“What is needed are peacemakers, not fomenters of conflict; firefighters not arsonists; preachers of reconciliation and not instigators of destruction.”

“Peace be with you” was the message of the Risen Jesus to his disciples on the first Easter, and it is the message Francis will bring to the Muslim and Christian communities in this land.

"This is not a Christian crisis of concern only to Christians," Cardinal Wuerl said. "This is a human crisis."

Pope Francis will be in Egypt for two days beginning on April 28.

In Europe the Christian population is dying faster than it is being replaced. In North America, the number of Christian deaths will begin to exceed the number of births to Christian parents by around 2050.

The polarizing campaign gave hard-line Islamic groups a national stage and has undermined Indonesia's reputation for practicing a moderate form of Islam.