Christians are called to engage in Egypt's post Arab Spring

Vatican City, 18 May 2013: Christians should become more actively engaged in the post Arab Spring political process taking place in their country, said Archbishop Michael Fitzgerald, the former Vatican ambassador to Egypt. He was speaking to Vatican Radio’s Philippa Hitchen about the challenges facing the Christian communities in Egypt today. The Archbishop who served as Apostolic Nuncio to Cairo and the Arab League from 2006 until last October, said that the Catholic Church has played an important role in encouraging participation in the transition to democracy following the ouster of former ruler Hosni Mubarak in 2011. But he says there is fear of the increasing influence of radical Islam and a lack of security for minority communities.

Archbishop Fitzgerald, a former head of the Vatican’s Council for Interreligious Dialogue, praised the growing cooperation of all the different Christian communities in Egypt and urged them to make their voice heard in the forthcoming parliamentary elections, expected to take place before the end of 2013.

Archbishop Fitzgerald, who currently lives in Jerusalem, was in Rome this week to give a lecture on the aftermath of the Arab Spring at the Pontifical Institute for Arabic and Islamic Studies.

Source: VR Eng