Today, Saturday, at the Papal Residence in Cairo, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II received a French delegation of politicians, writers and journalists.
The delegation included Mr. Pierre Lelouch, former French Minister of Defense, Mrs. Valiere Pouilly, member of the French Senate, Mr. Alexandre Delval, a journalist for the French newspaper Le Figaro, Mr. Anthony Colonna, journalist for the Valere Actuel website, Ms. Michele Saban, writer and activist in the field of women and alternative energy, and Mr. Francisco de Remedes, journalist for the Italian Journal newspaper. They were accompanied by Dr. Abd al-Rahim Ali, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Editorial Board of Al-Bawaba newspaper, and President of the Center for Middle East Studies in Paris.
His Holiness welcomed the delegation, wishing them a successful and joyful visit, then gave them an overview of the Coptic Church and St. Mark’s annunciation to it, and the church’s spiritual and national role throughout history, and referred to the signs of the church, which are like the three pyramids of the church, namely: education, martyrdom, and monasticism. H.H. also discussed the spread of the Church in most countries of the world and its service to societies in these countries. His Holiness also spoke about the good relations that unite the Church with all the institutions of the Egyptian state, foremost of which are the institution of the Presidency, the Government, and Al-Azhar Al-Sharif. H.H. also referred to the loving relations bind the Coptic Orthodox Church with other churches around the world, and to the Council of Churches of Egypt, which includes five churches present in Egypt. H.H. also mentioned the church’s primary role, which is the spiritual role, and then comes the societal role, as it is one of the church’s most obligatory duties to serve the society in which it lives.
His Holiness described the national unity in Egypt that if is characterised by the common life of the Egyptians in the cities, villages and hamlets, as the Egyptians live around the Nile, which is what we call the natural unity that God made, and it is what characterizes Egypt.
His Holiness explained the ancient name of Egypt “Kemi”, meaning the brown soil, and from it came the name of the science of chemistry, and that the Egyptian civilization stored within it seven layers: the Pharaonic, Christian, Greco-Roman, Islamic, Arabic, Mediterranean, and African civilizations.
Egypt, despite its distinguished geographical location, is distinguished by the fact that it is the only country in the world that is square in shape, having two sides on seas and two sides on deserts. Hence came the balanced vision on which Egypt deals with all issues, and His Holiness cited the saying of the late Egyptian scientist Gamal Hamdan, who described Egypt as “the unique in nature, history is its father, geography is its mother.”
H.H. also mentioned that Egypt is considered one of the Holy Lands because its land was blessed by the visit of the Holy Family, who resided in the land of Egypt and toured throughout it for three years, six months and ten days. Therefore, Egypt has a special status with God. If all countries are in the hands of God, then Egypt is in the heart of God.
Then, His Holiness listened to the questions and inquiries of the French delegation, and answered them. Among them was a question about the opinion of His Holiness about the attacks on churches in August 2013, when about 100 churches and church buildings were burned.
His Holiness replied: “This attack was targeting Egypt and its national unity, not just the Christians and their churches, so we found at that time that preserving the homeland is a priority because when the homeland remains, the churches will remain and everything will remain, but if the homeland is lost, nothing will remain, hence the saying:” A country without churches is better than churches without a country.
Regarding the situation of Christians in the Middle East, His Holiness warned of the danger of emptying the Middle East of Christians, as their presence is like a wall that protects the region from the emergence of many conflicts.
Regarding the current situation of Egyptian Christians, His Holiness valued what has been achieved since His Excellency President Al-Sisi became the Presidential.
Among the most prominent of these achievements is the church building law, which dealt with an unjust situation that lasted for centuries, and Christians also had the opportunity to assume high positions that they had not had the opportunity to hold before, after the selection for these positions became based on the criterion of competence, as the state is currently re-correcting many of the unfair conditions accumulated from previous eras. With regard to the problems that occur from time to time in some villages, His Holiness stressed that coordination and cooperation between the Church and state institutions helps strongly to contain such problems.
His Holiness also addressed the issue of Egypt’s hosting of the Climate Conference, indicating that the Church contributed to this issue by presenting the “Plant a Tree” initiative, where thousands of trees were planted in monasteries and churches throughout Egypt, and noted the Church’s support for the United Nations initiative to save the planet “Earth Hour”.
Regarding the wars currently taking place, His Holiness affirmed his complete rejection of the principle of war, especially wars that have no justification and are useless.
Regarding the problems that arise within some churches, His Holiness warned of the danger of internal division, pointing out that we should strive towards the spirit of love and unity, not division.
Regarding the situation of refugees in Egypt, His Holiness indicated that the Church contributes to serving the refugees, who number about 5 million, as it provides them with a variety of services, including education and development.

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