Conflicts between church and state are as timeless as the answer Jesus gives in this Sunday’s gospel when asked whether it was lawful to pay the census tax: “Repay to Caesar what belongs to Caesar and to God what belongs to God.” Conflicts between Egypt’s Coptic Christian minority and the military council now ruling the country burst into violence this week when at least 24 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in the worst clash since the ouster of President Hosni Mubarak in February.

A demonstration by Christians angry about a recent attack on a church appeared to explode because it was aimed squarely at the military council that has ruled Egypt since the revolution at a moment when the military’s latest delay in turning over power has led to a spike in public distrust of its authority.

When the clashes broke out, some Muslims ran into the streets to help defend the Christians against the police while others said they had come out to help the army quell the protests in the name of stability, turning what started as a march about a church into a chaotic battle over military rule and Egypt’s future.

The protest took place against a backdrop of escalating tensions between Muslims and Coptic Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population. Christians had joined the pro-democracy protests in large numbers, hoping for the protections of a pluralistic, democratic state, but a surge in the power of Islamists has raised fears of how much tolerance majority rule will allow.

Pope Benedict XVI said Wednesday he is “deeply saddened” by the violence and condemned what he called attempts to “undermine the peaceful coexistence” among Egyptian communities.

Sources: Articles by Leila Fadel and Ingy Hassieb for the Washington Post,
David D. Kirkpatrick for the New York Times, and Religion News Service