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 >>

A number of Christian leaders and members of the Maspero Youth Union in addition hundreds of Copts attended the funeral of 34-year-old Copt Daoud Makram Daoud, one of the victims of the Khosos attacks this past Friday and Saturday in the El-Khosos City of Qaliubiya.

The participants organized a demonstration in the village after burying the victim, rebuking the attacks that targeted Copts in the area, and stressed keeping the Christian faith in Egypt.

The victim's father denounced the attacks committed by security forces against the cathedral after they were seen throwing tear gas into the precincts of St. Mark's Cathedral in Abbassiya. Unidentified attackers struck the sacred cathedral with stones, Molotov cocktails and gun shots. more >>

Egypt's former Minister of Culture, Dr. Emad Abu Ghazi, described the unprovoked attacks on the cathedral in Egypt on Sunday as "a crime by the regime," adding that he cannot understand the reason for the attacks.

"There is a group seeking to destroy Egypt and all its symbols, but Egyptians will not allow it to do that," Abu Ghazi told MCN.

Asked whether these attacks were a message to the church and Coptic Christians in order to intimidate those attacked and prevent social and political engagement, Abu Ghazi insisted Egyptians today will not respond to such tactics. more >>

Maronite Patriarch Mar Beshara Boutros el-Rai expressed concern on the situation of Christians in Syria and the increasing number of displaced Syrians living in Lebanon.

During his meeting with French President Francois Hollande at the Elysee Palace in Paris Tuesday, Patriarch Rahi said a large number of Orthodox Christians- about 60 percent of those displaced- had left Syria, and that the solution there must be political. Patriarch Rahi stressed that President Bashar el-Assad is not worse than those who are fighting in Syria.

"[France] is committed to stability of Lebanon and political harmony among all components of the Lebanese community in order to preserve civil peace and national unity," President Hollande said in a statement. more >>

A leading human rights organization has urged Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi to investigate the deadly St. Mark's Cathedral attacks and bring those responsible to justice.

Human Rights First (HRF) demands that the government "immediately establish a public inquiry into incidents of sectarian violence that have occurred in recent weeks, including yesterday's clashes around Cairo's main Coptic Christian cathedral," according to a HRF statement published on their website.

"Those implicated in acts of sectarian violence should be prosecuted and member of the security forces who failed in their duties to protect citizens should be held accountable," the statement added. more >>