Pope Francis Calls 21 Egypt Coptic Christians Beheaded by ISIS 'Martyrs'

Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church and of Vatican City, has condemned the apparent beheading of 21 Coptic Christians from Egypt by the jihadist rebel group, Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS)

Through extemporaneous remarks during a meeting with representatives of the Church of Scotland on Monday, the Pope called the Christians brutally murdered by the ISIS as "martyrs."

According to a report on The Daily Mail website, the Roman Catholic leader expressed "profounds sadness" over the murder of the Christian Egyptians. 

"Today, I read about the execution of those twenty-one or twenty-two Coptic Christians. Their last words were: Jesus help me!" Pope Francis said using his native tongue, Spanish.

The Argentinian pontiff particularly condemned how the 21 Egyptians "were executed for nothing more than the fact that they were Christians."

"The blood of our Christian brothers and sisters is a witness that cries out to be heard," Pope Francis said.

On Sunday, militants in Libya supposedly loyal to the ISIS released a video showing the mass beheading of the Egyptian Coptic Christians.

The victims were all laborers kidnapped in December and January from the city of Sirte.

The gruesome video showed the Coptic Christians wearing orange jumpsuits and being forced to kneel down along an unknown beach. The men were then faced down and simultaneously beheaded.

Following the release of the video, Egypt launched a series of air strikes on areas in eastern Libya believed to be controlled by ISIS.

In his remarks condemning the beheadings, Pope Francis also called on Christians to work harder toward unity.

"As we recall these brothers and sisters who were killed only because they confessed Christ, I ask that we encourage one another to go forward with this ecumenism that is emboldening us, the ecumenism of blood," the Pope said, as quoted by Breitbart.com.