Pope approves election of new head of Coptic Catholic Church

January 18, 2013 - Pope Benedict XVI on Friday approved the election of Bishop Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak of Minya as the new Patriarch of the Coptic Catholic Church, based in Egypt. The Alexandrian Rite Church in full communion with the Catholic Church, elected its new head on Tuesday, during its synod meeting, Jan. 12 -16 in Moqattam. He succeeds Cardinal Antonios Naguib, who stepped down on health grounds. In the Latin-rite Churches the Pope directly appoints bishops, whereas in Eastern-rite Churches, in communion with the Catholic Church, the synods elect their heads and bishops which the Pope approves. The 57-year old new Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria was ordained a priest in 1980, and two years later went to Rome where he obtained a doctorate in dogmatic theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University. In 2002 he was elected bishop of Minya.