The Pope’s statements are “merely political and not Catholic or Orthodox,” said Dr. John Qolta.

With additional reporting by Hany Bishr, IOL Cairo staff

CAIRO, June 19 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Pope John Paul II strongly condemned Wednesday, June 19, the organizers of the resistance operation on a Jerusalem bus which killed 19 people the day before, news agencies reported.

"Those who plot and plan such barbarous actions must answer to God," the pontiff told some 8,000 pilgrims at his weekly general audience in St Peter's Square in the Vatican, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).

"The dramatic news of the attack which yesterday sowed terror and death in Jerusalem can only provoke the firmest reprobation of the whole world," he added.

Meanwhile, the Patriarch of Egyptian Catholics, Dr. John Qolta, told IslamOnline that “if this is what the Pope said, then this represents a western point of view and the western civilization. It goes in line with what they view as their interests with Israel.”

It is true, he said, that the Pope represents the Catholic church in the world; however, his statements are “merely political and not Catholic or Orthodox. We, here in the east, have a different perspective because the matter is not a matter of faith or doctrine, but it is a political and social matter.”

“As an Arab and Egyptian, I have suffered from Israel since 1948,” he added. “I consider these forms of operations as ‘martyr’ and those who carry them out as ‘martyrs’ as well.” 

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