CAIRO: After the recent clashes in Cairo that left at least 14 dead and over 700 injured, Copts Without Barriers called on the Coptic Church of Egypt to tone down its celebration of Coptic Christmas on January 7 in “consideration of the mourning over those who were killed.” The group said in a statement published Wednesday that the church will be open to all, but the celebrations will be muted. “We call on our honorable priests and bishops in all churches, inside and outside of Egypt, to limit the Christmas celebration to only the mass, without any other celebratory expression,” said the group. “We trust in the wisdom of Pope Shenoudah III and in his patriotic sense,” said the group about the Pope, who just recently returned from a medical trip in the United States. The Pope and other Coptic leaders in the church have chosen to stay silent about the recent clashes between protesters and the military. “I don't comment on any political matter,” Pope Shenuda was quoted saying in his Wednesday sermon in Abbasiya. The group said they would participate in the upcoming million man march on Friday dubbed as “the Friday of restoring honor” in opposition to the violent crackdown on protesters and the beating and assaulting of female protesters in and around Tahrir square. The group was the first organizational entity to emerge from the Tahrir parallel sit-in during the early days of the uprising, which took place outside the state TV building and called for greater rights to Coptic Christians in the country. BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/jEHqJ Tags: Celebrations, Christmas, Coptic Christians, featured, Occupy Cabinet, Tahrir Section: Egypt, Latest News, Religion
