This afternoon, at the Papal Residence in Cairo, H.H. Pope Tawadros II received Mr. Illka Salmi, Coordinator of the Council of Europe Committee on Counter-Terrorism, and his accompanying delegation.

During the meeting, His Holiness presented to them an overview of the history of Egypt and the history of the Coptic Orthodox Church, pointing out that it is the national church, and that its main role is the spiritual role followed by the social role, which it always plays with the aim of supporting and aiding the Egyptian society, and one of the most prominent features of the social role is building schools that graduate students, including many Egyptians who have taken a leading role in society.
Regarding the current security situation in Egyptian society, His Holiness indicated that after the 2011 revolution and since 2013, the state faces two main issues, namely the elimination of terrorism, which his Excellency President El Sisi announced two days ago about the elimination of terrorism in Sinai.
The second issue is facing poverty, the economic situation, and the growth required to build new Egypt, in which the state was able to make great steps , evidenced by the New Administrative Capital and the huge national projects that the state is undertaking.
Regarding the youth, H.H. mentioned that Egypt is a country that relies on youth because a large percentage of the Egyptian people are young. H.H. added: “We have a Youth Ministry and within the church we have a Youth Bishopric. We offer our youth many programs and prepare many meetings for them, but we need more youth leaders. Young people today need someone to offer them love and continuous communication.”
His Holiness answered a question about what should be provided to young people for their development, saying: “Education is the key, and good education must be provided to young people so that they do not think about legal or illegal immigration, and the state is working hard to provide good job opportunities for young people through new projects.”
About the problems that occur from time to time in some villages, His Holiness indicated that good education and the elimination of poverty through projects will contribute strongly to the eradication of such problems and added: “The state currently has a large project, which is a decent life project to develop villages and eradicate poverty.

H.H. concluded: “Today, it is necessary to work to sow love and hope in the hearts of young people around the world in light of the current conditions that the whole world is facing, including wars, pandemics and difficult economic conditions, and we, as a Church, must help in this with our youth by deepening spiritual life and community service.”

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