Pope Francis prays for victims of terrorist attacks

Pope Francis prays for victims of terrorist attacks

People stand near St. Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral after an explosion at the church in Cairo, Egypt. - REUTERS.

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has prayed for the victims of several terrorist attacks which had taken place in the hours before his Sunday Angelus.

In Egypt, a bomb outside St. Mark’s Coptic Cathedral in Cairo killed at least 25 people on Sunday morning; in Somalia, a suicide bomber killed over a dozen people in Mogadishu on Sunday morning; and in Turkey, at least 38 people were killed in twin bomb attacks outside a football stadium in Instanbul on Saturday evening.

“And we also pray for the victims of some horrible terrorist attacks which have hit various countries in the last few hours,” Pope Francis said after reciting the Angelus.

“There are several places, but unfortunately, unique is the violence that sows death and destruction. But the response is also unique: Faith in God and unity in human and civil values,” – Pope Francis said – “I would like to express a special closeness to my dear brother Pope Tawadros II [the head of the Coptic Church] and to his community, and I am praying for the dead and the wounded.”

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