Christians across the world expressed horror and outrage at the mass killing, with Pope Francis calling the victims “martyrs” whose violent deaths should unite the fractured Christian community.
Remarkably, though, a leading Coptic Christian bishop says that he has already forgiven the ISIS soldiers who slaughtered his fellow Copts.
–
Q: You’re in Washington today meeting with U.S. leaders. What should they do about ISIS’ persecution of Christians and other religious communities?
A: I would like to see us all start to work towards human rights generally, because when we’re divided into different departments or organizations any change will be fragmented. If you look at the rights of every individual, God-given rights, we can all start to work together and safeguard any people who are persecuted anywhere. Of course, the vast majority of persecution falls squarely right now on Christians in the Middle East and that needs to be addressed. But, as a Christian, I will never be comfortable just safeguarding the rights of Christians. We need to help everyone.
