EGYPT (ACN News): “The new constitution should be for all Egyptians, not just for one group,” Coptic Catholic Bishop Kyrillos Kamal William Sam-aan of Assiut said, underscoring the right of Christians to participate in the creation of a new Egypt.
Since mid-February, Bishop Kyrillos has been representing the Cairo-based Patriarch of Alexandria, Antonios Kardinal Naguib, who is gravely ill, as the leader of the nation’s Coptic Catholic Church.
Bishop Samaan, in a discussion with the international Catholic pastoral charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), said the co-operation between the different Christian faiths was much greater than in the past owing to the political upheavals.
The bishop said work was ongoing on establishing a council of all churches in Egypt.
The aim was to offer meetings for clergy of all confessions, youths, women and other Church-related groups to clearly demonstrate that the Christians stand together.
Bishop Samaan called the involvement of Christians in preparing the new constitution “indispensible”.
Coptic Catholic Church spokesman Fr Rafic Greiche confirmed to ACN that representatives of all four Christian denominations in Egypt were participating in the work of the constitution commission. Bishop Samaan said: “We have no problems with the victory of the Muslim Brotherhood in recent elections.”
He said many Muslim brothers were more moderate than the Salafis. The latter want a “pure” Islam and would reject the election of Christians on the grounds they were infidels.
However, the Coptic Christian Church works hard to maintain good contacts with Muslims.
“Christians are not strangers to this country, a minority admittedly, but certainly 15 per cent of the population. Many Muslims recognise that there were Christians in this country before Islam,” Bishop Samaan said.
At the same time, Bishop Samaan confirmed Christians were leaving the country, usually for economic reasons.
