"The Christianity of history is not Protestantism. If ever there were a safe truth it is this, and Protestantism has ever felt it so; to be deep in history is to cease to be a Protestant." (-John Henry Newman, An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine).

"Where the bishop is, there let the people gather; just as where ever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church". -St. Ignatius of Antioch (ca 110 AD)a martyr later thrown to the lions, wrote to a church in Asia Minor. Antioch was also where the term "Christian" was first used.

“But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth.” 1 Timothy 3:15

"This is the sole Church of Christ, which in the Creed we profess to be one, holy, catholic and apostolic." -CCC 811

Sunday, January 16, 2011

Egypt church shooting attacker gets death sentence


By HAMZA HENDAWI, Associated Press
CAIRO – A court in southern Egypt on Sunday convicted and sentenced to death a Muslim man for his part in last year's Christmas drive-by shooting outside a church that left six Christians and a Muslim guard dead, judicial officials said.

The court will announce its verdict next month for the other two defendants accused in the Jan. 6, 2010 attack, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to share the information with the media.

Sunday's verdict, which cannot be appealed, comes two weeks after a suicide bomber blew himself up outside a church in the port city of Alexandria, killing 21 and wounding nearly a 100 in the deadliest violence against Christians in more than a decade. A local, al-Qaida-inspired group is thought to be behind the attack.

The January 2010 attack in the southern town of Nag Hamadi also took place outside a church as worshippers were leaving after the Coptic Christmas Mass, and is believed to have been in retaliation for accusations of rape against a local Christian man.


The harshness of Sunday's sentence was likely to partially appease Egypt's Christians, who have been complaining that criminal cases involving Muslims attacking members of their community often languish in the courts.

They also charge that police often turn a blind eye to incidents of discrimination or violence against them. Last week an off duty police officer walked onto a train in southern Egypt and shot six Christians, killing a 71-year-old man, further exacerbating tensions with the country's largest minority.

The government denies any discrimination against the Christians, who make up about 10 percent of Egypt's estimated 80 million people.

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