The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Only fanaticism for believers is charity, pope tells crowd
CAIRO — Pope Francis wrapped up a brief but deeply symbolic visit to Egypt on Saturday with an open-air Mass for the country’s tiny Catholic community, defying security concerns to show his support for the Christians of this Muslim-majority Arab nation who increasingly have been targeted by Islamic militants.
Military helicopters flew overhead and police fanned out in force as Francis, using an open-topped golf cart and waving to the congregation, zoomed around the soccer stadium where Mass was celebrated.
The crowd cheered him wildly, waving Egyptian and Holy See flags and swaying to hymns sung by church choirs. The stadium has a capacity of 25,000, but only about 15,000 people attended — a reflection that Catholics represent less than 1 percent of Egypt’s 92 million people.
But the relatively modest number and the draconian security did not dampen their jubilant mood. Francis engaged the crowd with waves and smiles, and gave his blessings to the children hoisted up by their parents.
In his homily, Francis urged them to be good and merciful to their fellow Egyptians, saying “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.
It was a very pastoral message after Francis on his first day demanded that Muslim leaders renounce religious fanaticism that leads to violence. Francis made the appeal during a landmark visit to Cairo’s Al-Azhar, the revered 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam learning that trains clerics and scholars from around the world.
Security was exceptionally tight around the stadium and in the upscale neighborhood where Francis spent the night, with police stationed every yard or so along his motorcade route. Police used metal detectors to check vehicles for explosives and armed guards stood watch, their faces covered.
But Francis decided to forgo the bullet-proof “popemobile” and drove through Cairo in a simple Fiat, his window rolled down.
“He is a messenger of peace — he is really a messenger of peace,” said attendee Amgad Eskandar before the Mass began at the stadium. “All his words talk about peace, call for peace, push for peace, which is great.”
The pope’s gestures — the simple Fiat and the opentopped golf cart — sent a defiant message to the extremist Islamic State group, whose local affiliate in Egypt has vowed to target Egypt’s Christians to punish them for their support of President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, who has suppressed Islamist political groups.
Already, attacks against Christians in northern Sinai, the epicenter of the insurgency, have forced scores of families to flee the region, seeking refuge elsewhere in Egypt.
Recent attacks on churches — one in Cairo in December and twin Palm Sunday attacks in cities north of the Egyptian capital — have claimed at least 75 lives and injured scores.
Francis strongly backed the government’s crackdown on the extremists Friday, saying Egypt was uniquely placed to bring peace to the region and “vanquish all violence and terrorism.”