The Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of Holy See of St. Mark the Apostle, H.H. Pope Tawadros II, has accused the Egyptian regime and security forces for failing to prevent the sectarian incidents of El-Khosos and St. Mark's Cathedral.

The patriarch added that security forces came up short in performing their duty, as it was possible to contain the situation by making the right decision to protect innocent citizens. Due to the state of unrest and idleness, forces instead chose the "leniency of law."

Pope Tawadros highlighted the negligence and complacency with which the St. Mark's Cathedral attacks were handled crossed all lines. He also pointed out that the events had reached a chaotic state and placed the responsibility on the state and President Mahmoud Morsi. more >>

The Egyptian Center for Development Studies (ECDS) has called for Coptic Members of Parliament in the Shura Council to resign in protest against the siege of St. Mark's Cathedral.

The center also called for "holding President Mohamed Morsi accountable for failing to protect his people," referring to "the failure of the state to protect its citizens and places of worship, especially the cathedral, which is seen a symbol by the Orthodox Copts in Egypt and all over the world."

The center also demanded that the interior minister, Mohamed Ibrahim, be fired and have charges levied against him "for failing to address the events of the cathedral." more >>

In the wake of the attacks on St. Mark's Cathedral in Cairo, religious leaders are warning that their country is in a state of imbalance and close to falling into total chaos.

"Egypt is now in a state of political, social and religious imbalance," associate patriarch of the Catholic Church H.G. Bishop Yohanna Qolta, told Mideast Christian News. "Where the prestige of state and law has fallen, and become unchecked and anarchic."

"According to the presidential statement, the Copts perhaps began throwing stones from inside the cathedral, and they were in a state of grief, but does that offset some young people going, masked, from police armored vehicles," the bishop continued. more >>

Egyptian political intellectual and writer Amin el-Mahdi described the recent assault on St. Mark's Cathedral and Al-Azhar earlier as an attempt for "sectarian fragmentation" by the Muslim Brotherhood in order to control Egyptian society.

Mahdi said that the attack by the interior ministry on the Coptic youth inside the cathedral during the funeral of the victims of El-Khosos City was aimed at suppressing Copts.

In his comment on current events in a seminar organized on Wednesday evening at San Gabriel Cultural Center in Alexandria under the title, "Crisis of Democracy and Peace," Mahdi said that the state assaulted on and besieged the cathedral to suppress Coptic youth. The efforts came because the Maspero Youth Union participated in the solidarity march with Sheikh of Al-Azhar against "Brotherhooding" the institution. more >>

The Christian Association of Nigerian-Americans (CANAN) recently denounced mounting pressure on the Nigerian government to grant extremist group Boko Haram amnesty.

In a statement CANAN's executive director, Laolu Akande, said there are other options apart from amnesty.

"We are not out rightly against a political solution, side by side with the enforcement of law and order which is government's primary assignment anywhere," Akande told The Premium Times. more >>

The World Christian Forum (WCF) expressed its anxiety over the recent attacks targeting Copts in Egypt, stressing that such acts reflect sectarian incitement that could lead to dire consequences.

The forum clarified its final statement during a recent meeting in Amman, Jordan. The participants discussed the current situations of their churches, including the need to develop relations with each other as well as with the citizens of their countries.

WCF also discussed the current environment in the region, which poses a serious threat against to religious minorities. more >>