Pope Francis condemned Tuesday the beheading of 30 Ethiopian Christians by Islamic State (IS) militants in Libya, The Guardian reported. "With great distress and sadness I learn of the further shocking violence perpetrated against innocent Christians in Libya," Francis said in a message to Patriarch Matthias of the Ethiopian Tewahedo Orthodox Church. "I reach out to you in heartfelt spiritual solidarity to assure you of my closeness in prayer at the continuing martyrdom being so cruelly inflicted on Christians in Africa, the Middle East and some parts of Asia," the pope said in his message released by the Vatican. "The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a testimony which cries out to be heard by everyone who can still distinguish between good and evil. All the more this cry must be heard by those who have the destiny of peoples in their hands," he said. A video, released Sunday on IS media networks, showed the execution of two groups of prisoners, believed to be Ethiopian Christians.The Ethiopian government confirmed Monday that 30 of its citizens were among the two groups. In the video, IS militants called Christians "crusaders" who are out to kill Muslims. Last February Islamic State militants in Libya beheaded 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians.
