The attacks in Egypt will not deter Pope Francis, who has every intention to travel to that country on April 28-29, said Archbishop Giovanni Angelo Becciu, Substitute of the Holy See State Secretariat, to the Italian newspaper Il Corriere della Sera.
Referring to the attack, he said that “it causes consternation and great suffering, but it will not be able to impede the Pope’s carrying out his mission, adding that it is obvious that the aggressions are “an attack on dialogue and peace” and “an indirect message to those that govern the country and against the Christian minority that in recent months has found in some way more freedom.”
In addition, dialogue is a way of isolating the fundamentalists and “since the beginning of ISIS the Pope wished to distinguish between acts of terrorism carried out by fanatics and religion as such. He always rejected [the idea] of associating Islam as such, with terrorism.”
“The terrorists might be deviant Muslims, but not the religion. And this has obtained Muslims’ gratitude to the Pope for the honesty of his position,” he continued.
Moreover, “many Muslim authorities have met with the Holy Father to thank him and many others have written him in admiration of his prestigious moral authority.”
Asked about the topic of arms trafficking, on which the Pope insists always, the Substitute of the State Secretariat affirmed that “whoever traffics weapons are interested in causing situations of tension and war so that these weapons are sold more and more money is earned” and “the Pope knows what is happening, what the reality is, and the lobbies that come into play.”
In regard to the Pontiff’s trip to Egypt, Archbishop Becciu said that “it’s not the first time that situations are posed regarding security and the fear of attacks,” as “in Central Africa, because of the local situation.”
“We are assured that everything will go well in Egypt,” added the Vatican official. «We are going tranquilly, without hiding from the reality that at times isn’t good. The Pope invites to look at the future with hope and, as usual, he wants to give an example.”
