Tawadros II calls on the faithful to greater participation in Public and Political
life
November 06, 2012: "Now that finally the new orthodox pope was elected, we
Catholics are happy to celebrate together with our brothers and sisters" said Antonios
Aziz Mina, the Coptic Catholic Bishop of Giza, on Monday. The new patriarch of the
Coptic Orthodox church - Anba Tawadros - was raffled on Sunday morning in the cathedral
of San Marco in Cairo, before an immense crowd of faithful waiting to know which of
the three finalists would become the new Pope of Alexandria. In a telephone conversation
on Monday with ‘Aid to the Church in Need’, Bishop Mina hoped that "the successor
of Pope Shenouda III will guide his Church with strength and wisdom through the difficulties
facing Egypt today." Tawadros II will be officially enthroned Patriarch of Alexandria
on18 November, during a ceremony attended by the Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi.
In an earlier interview, the former bishop of Bahayra announced his intention to bring
the Coptic Church for primarily a spiritual and pastoral role, resizing the political
role that his predecessor had been "forced" to accept. On Monday, however, before
the state television, a resolute Tawadros II stated that "a constitution openly inspired
by religion will not be acceptable" and called on the faithful to greater participation
in public and political life. "We do not want anything more than a Constitution
for all Egyptians, - explained Bishop Mina to ACN – we are not asking for privileges,
but equality." The Bishop of Giza sees tough times for religious freedom in Egypt,
especially for Christians. "If we continue on this path we will find ourselves in
a situation close to persecution." In this sense, the bishop considers "extremely
alarming" what happened at the end of the summer in Rafah, in the Sinai Peninsula.
After a group of Islamists had distributed leaflets threatening that Christians were
given notice to leave the city within 48 hours and after many acts of violence, many
families were forced to flee their homes. "I hope the government and the president
Morsi are aware of their responsibility to ensure the safety of Egyptian citizens.
All of them. "