Pope Francis on Tuesday prayed for 21 Coptic Christians in Egypt murdered by the so-called Islamic State. He asked: “What is happening in the hearts of man?”
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JOSHUA J. MCELWEE
VATICAN CITY
February 17, 2015 Pope Francis on Tuesday offered prayers for 21 Coptic Christians in Egypt murdered by the so-called Islamic State, asking that God “welcome them as martyrs.”
The pontiff, speaking in his daily morning homily at Casa Santa Marta, also cried out again for a stop to conflicts around the world and to a ceasing of arms trafficking.
Saying that one only need open a newspaper to see that “90 percent of the news is news of destruction” around the world, Francis asked: “What is happening in the hearts of man?”
Jesus, he said, reminds us that “from the heart of man comes all evil.” Our “weak heart,” the pope said, “is wounded.”