CHURCHES CONDEMN CHRISTIAN MURDERS

Press TV, Iran
April 20 2007

The murder of three Christian evangelists in Turkey this week was
condemned by the Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches on Friday.

The three killed were members of an evangelist Protestant community
who were tortured, questioned, and killed in the eastern Turkish town
of Malatya.

The churches called the murders a "mad act" and "a violation of
religious freedoms".

Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican’s secretary of state, said
"I think all Turkish people have condemned this mad act, the work of
a fanatical minority," and referred to the victims as martyrs.

The Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church on Friday condemned the
murders and referred to the act as a "violation of religious freedoms".

The church also stated the killings might have religious and political
motives behind them and referred to the murder of a Catholic priest
and January’s killing of an Armenian journalist.

Ten murder suspects were questioned by the police on Friday.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress