Pope Tawadros II announced Tuesday that he has cancelled his weekly sermon and postponed mourning for the victims of recent sectarian violence. The pope's secretary said the religious leader is angered following the Sunday attack on St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo's Abbasseya district over the weekend. Tawadros criticized police during a phone interview aired on the Marmorqos Coptic Channel Tuesday morning, accusing them of failing to secure the cathedral and funeral procession. At least two people were killed following the attack on Christian mourners attending funeral services of four other Copts killed Friday during a shootout in Khosous, Qalyubiya, between Muslim and Christian residents. One Muslim resident was also killed. The secretary said a government delegation had visited the cathedral as part of the ongoing investigation into the violence. Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
