Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Cairo (Agenzia Fides) - The cartoons on Muhammad published by the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo are "offensive" and any insult must be rejected "at all levels". This is how Coptic Orthodox Patriarch Tawadros II expressed his disapproval with regards to the staff of the magazine. After the massacre, the magazine printed 5 million copies - whose cover shows a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad crying and holding a sign that says "je suis Charlie" under the title "all is forgiven".
"I - explained the Patriarch - refuse any form of personal insult, and when the insult is related to religions, they cannot be approved neither at a human, nor at a moral and social level. They do not help the peace in the world, and do not produce any benefit". The Coptic Patriarch released his statements during a meeting with some journalists.
"The cartoons – says Anba Antonios Aziz Mina, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Guizeh to Agenzia Fides - are glorified as an expression of freedom. But true freedom is always responsible. It does not offend gratuitously, it does not hurt others, especially when speaking of religion and faith. Maybe one should not give importance to these derisions, and not have reactions that are then manipulated and misrepresented as obscurantism". (GV) (Agenzia Fides 15/01/2015)
