Pope Benedict condemned a bomb blast outside a church in Egypt which killed at least 21 people yesterday.
"This vile gesture of death, like that of putting bombs near to the houses of Christians in Iraq to force them to leave, offends God and all of humanity," the pope said after his weekly angelus blessing today.
The car bomb explosion outside a Coptic Christian church in Alexandria yesterday wounded dozens of people as worshippers gathered to mark the new year and Egypt's Interior Ministry said a foreign-backed suicide bomber might have been responsible.
It prompted Christians to protest on the streets, and some Christians and Muslims threw stones at each other.
Christians make up about 10 per cent of Egypt's population of 79 million.
The pope urged Christian communities to persevere in a non-violent manner in the face of what he described as "a strategy of violence that has Christians as a target".
In his New Year's homily, the pope said "words were not enough" to bring about peace, particularly in the Middle East.
He called for "concrete and constant commitment" from national leaders and said everyone on a local level should strive for peace in their relations with their neighbours.