Egypt: "We've seen real progress"

His Beatitude Ibrahim Sidrak, the Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria, heads the small Coptic Catholic Church, which has about 300,000 members. In an interview with the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), he shared his thoughts about his country, which has become a refuge for many Christians.

How do you explain that, unlike in many other Near East countries, we have not seen a mass migration of Christians from Egypt?

Historically, we have a large Christian community – probably 15 million!—who are integrated into Egyptian society. You can ask an Egyptian Muslim if his family originated abroad, but not a Copt. If someone is a Copt, that means that their parents and grandparents were also Egyptian.

Another difference is that, in contrast with neighboring countries, where religious freedom has diminished, in ours, it has improved. Over the past ten years, give or take, our community has seen real progress. Our churches are legally recognized by the state, and there are much fewer acts of violence against us.

Twelve years ago, Mohamed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood rose to power in Egypt. Was this a terrible time?

It was, yes, but fortunately, it didn’t last long. During Mohamed Morsi’s tenure, attacks on Copts increased. I believe that in 2012, when the Egyptians voted, they thought that they had never given the Muslim Brotherhood a chance, and that they should. They won't make that mistake again.

Do you believe that the issue of the Muslim Brotherhood, which began in Egypt and is very hostile to religious minorities, has been settled?

No, because these sorts of movements never fully disappear, but the current government is taking this threat very seriously, and they no longer dominate Egyptian society. When they held full power, between 2012 and 2013, it was very risky for a Christian to go out alone. Our Churches were under constant threat. Hundreds of them were burned!

Now we live in relative safety. There are fanatics and terrorists, as happens everywhere, but they are restrained.

Nonetheless, Egypt is going through an economic crisis. Has this caused any disturbances?

We welcome a number of these immigrants, as best we can. The Coptic Catholic Church generally plays an important charitable role in Egypt, through its schools, hospitals, and clinics. There are 180 Coptic Catholic schools, which have a good reputation. Many Muslims want to send their children to our schools, and some members of government have attended them. This not only helps to educate our people, but it also keeps them united, despite religious differences.

To better fulfill this role, we insist on the importance of formation, not only for the clergy, but also for catechists, to whom we offer four-year training courses. We are also particularly focused on strengthening the Faith among children.

What are the Church’s needs?

We need to build more churches. Now that the government has lifted restraints on the building of new churches, all the dioceses have ongoing construction projects. The churches are the heart of our communities, but for many faithful, they are difficult to get to. Those who live further away have to spend around a quarter of their salary to get their families to the nearest church for Sunday services by bus. Our cathedral in Luxor, which was burned, is a good example of the need for Coptic Catholics to rebuild. Soon, it will be completely restored, thanks, especially, to Aid to the Church in Need.

- Sylvian Dorient

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