Church spokesman: Islamic fundamentalists want all Christians out of Mideast

December 16, 2010

Father Rafic Greische, spokesman of the Catholic Church in Egypt, spoke with Vatican Radio about recent difficulties faced by Egyptian Christians, including the imprisonment of Christians who protested the government’s refusal to permit the construction of a church.

“This is what the Muslim fundamentalists want: they want the Christians to evacuate from the Middle East and leave (the region to them),” he said. “And this is what is happening every day… and the governments do not take serious action to relieve or solve these problems.”

Only 0.3% of the Egypt's 77.6 million people are Catholic, according to Vatican statistics; some 9% are Coptic Orthodox.

 

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Further information:

• The woes of Egypt's Christians this Christmas (Vatican Radio)