[D Rider]

The head of Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church on Saturday became the first top Christian leader to join the Muslim world in denouncing comments made by Pope Benedict XVI's about Islam and jihad...

The Coptic church is under perpetual persecution from Muslims. Thus any condemnation from church leaders should be considered as if it came from someone with a gun to their head, or more accurately , a knife to their throat.

[livius]

Well, somebody on another thread said that Shenouda wants to keep his 3 hots and a cot. Taking a look at the plump little guy, I'd say he's not suffering unduly, and the Coptic Church there is widely known to be nothing but an Egyptian government tool. Since the theoretically secular government has to make nice to the Islamic nutjobs, I guess he's just doing his duty to his employers.

[Conservative til I die]

The Coptic church is under perpetual persecution from Muslims. Thus any condemnation from church leaders should be considered as if it came from someone with a gun to their head, or more accurately , a knife to their throat.

Not that I am anyone's judge, but there's lots of stuff that Jesus said about being persecuted and standing for His name in the face of that persecution.