Cairo - Pope Francis warned against
religious fanaticism on Saturday, wrapping up a brief trip to
Cairo where he urged Muslim leaders to unite against violence by
Islamic militants threatening to rid the Middle East of its
ancient Christian communities.
Francis' trip comes three weeks after Islamic State killed
at least 45 people in attacks on two Egyptian churches. He has
used the visit to launch a strong appeal for religious freedom
and to accuse extremists of distorting the nature of God.
After a dense first day of meetings with political and
religious leaders, the highlight on Saturday was a Mass in the
Air Defence Stadium, where Vatican officials said 15 000 people
gathered, among them Coptic bishops and senior Anglican figures.
Crowds arrived early, waving Egyptian and Vatican flags and
braving intense security measures to welcome Francis, who toured
the sun-drenched stadium in a golf buggy to the sound of hymns
performed by a choir and orchestra.
He blessed Egypt as one of the earliest nations to embrace
Christianity and repeated his plea for tolerance.
"True faith leads us to protect the rights of others with
the same zeal and enthusiasm with which we defend our own," he
told the crowd in the heavily guarded arena.
"The only fanaticism believers can have is that of charity.
Any other fanaticism does not come from God and is not pleasing
to him," he said in his homily.
In a series of speeches during his two-day stay, the pope
has delivered his bluntest denunciations yet against religious
violence, and has appeared to endorse Egyptian President Abdel
Fattah al-Sisi's campaign against Islamist militants.
However, he nuanced his message by lamenting the rise of
"demagogic forms of populism" - a possible reference to
right-wing nationalist parties in Europe pushing anti-immigrant
and anti-Muslim agendas.
He also defended human rights - which non-governmental
organisations have accused Sisi's administration of abusing.
"History does not forgive those who preach justice, but then
practice injustice," he said in a speech on Friday, sharing the
stage with Sisi, who warmly applauded his words.
The unusual choice of venue for Saturday's religious service
highlights the security concerns surrounding the trip.
Helicopter gunships circled the perimeter of the stadium and
armoured military vehicles patrolled the streets of the Egyptian
capital on Saturday. Police in white uniforms were positioned
every few metres (yards) on a Nile bridge that the pope crossed.
The 80-year-old pope himself declined the use of an armoured
limousine, preferring instead to travel in an ordinary Fiat car
with its window wound down so he could be closer to onlookers.
Francis had lunch with Egyptian bishops and was later
leading prayers at a Catholic seminary in the south of Cairo
before heading back to Italy in the late afternoon.
The visit was the first by Francis to Cairo but the second
by a Catholic pope. Pope John Paul II came to Egypt in 2000, a
year before the September 11 attacks on the United States that
convulsed Western relations with the Muslim world.
Egypt's Christians comprise 10 percent of the 92 million
population, making them the largest Christian community in the
Middle East. Most Egyptian Christians are Coptic Orthodox, while
barely 200 000 are members of Churches within the Roman Catholic
fold.
While Egypt has escaped the sort of sectarian violence that
has decimated ancient Christian communities in Syria and Iraq,
it is under threat from Islamic State militants who launched a
campaign in December to wipe out Egypt's Christians, carrying
out three church attacks that have killed more than 70 people.
The campaign presents a challenge for Sisi, who has vowed to
crush Islamist extremist and is fighting a long-running
insurgency in North Sinai, where Islamic State murders have
forced hundreds of Copts to flee.
Sisi, who declared a three-month state of emergency after
the Palm Sunday church attacks, appealed for more international
cooperation to combat terrorism when he met Francis on Friday.