by catholicherald.co.uk/

Military helicopters flew overhead and police fanned out in force today as Pope Francis celebrated an open-air Mass for Egypt’s tiny Catholic community, on the final day of a visit aimed at comforting Christians following a series of attacks by Islamic militants. Despite the security concerns, Francis zoomed around the Cairo sports stadium in an open-topped golf cart before the start of Mass. The crowd cheered him wildly, waving Egyptian and Holy See flags and swaying to hymns sung by church choirs. The defence ministry’s 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. 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.

Yesterday, Francis 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 uniformed and plain-clothed police stationed every meter (yard) or so along his motorcade route. Police used metal detectors to check vehicles for explosives and armed guards stood watch, some on rooftops, their faces covered. But Francis decided to forego the bullet-proof “popemobile” that his predecessors used on foreign trips 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 Amgad Eskandr before the Mass got under way at the stadium. “All his words talk about peace, call for peace, push for peace which is great.” His gestures 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. As defense minister, El-Sissi had led the military ouster of the Islamist Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s first freely elected president whose one-year rule proved divisive.

 Already, attacks against Christians in northern Sinai, the epicenter of the insurgency, have forced hundreds 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.

By Daily Star Lebanon - BEIRUT: Lebanon will work with U.S. authorities in a bid to minimize the impact of new sanctions being drafted to target Hezbollah financing and its suspected affiliates, Prime Minister Saad Hariri said Thursday.“There’s a new bill being prepared by the U.S. Congress and we should have a team working on explaining our efforts in combating money laundering and other [illicit activities],” Hariri told reporters after a meeting with President Michel Aoun at the Baabda Palace. “The [implementation] of the bill will be harsh on Lebanon,” he said, adding that Beirut would work with Washington to “change [the bill].” A number of members of the U.S. House of Representatives have prepared the draft “Hezbollah International Financing Prevention Amendments Act of 2017” – that aims to cut off all forms of financial support to the party, which Washington deems a terrorist organization.

The new draft, which has not yet been introduced in the House, has reportedly added additional entities, such as the Amal Movement, to the list of already sanctioned parties. A similar draft is said to be making the rounds in the Senate. A high-ranking Lebanese political and banking delegation is set to travel to Washington in May in a bid to negotiate with U.S. authorities regarding the measures. Sources told The Daily Star Monday that the delegation may include ministers and MPs as well as representatives of the Association of Banks in Lebanon. The prime minister also chaired a meeting Thursday at the Grand Serail with a delegation from north Lebanon municipalities. “You represent different political movements, but what is important is the citizen who lives in this municipality, knowing that in the end, the state will benefit from consolidating its presence through the development projects that will be implemented,” Hariri told the delegation. “What is required today is to set priorities and develop a road map to implement all the projects that must be complementary to each other.” Deputy Prime Minister and Health Minister Ghassan Hasbani attended Thursday’s meeting, as did representatives of other ministers, including those of President Aoun.