This morning, H.H. Pope Tawadros II received Cardinal Victor Fernandez, Head of the Doctrine and Faith Department at the Vatican.
The Cardinal conveyed the greetings of H.H. Pope Francis; Pope of the Vatican, praising the loving meetings between the two Churches, the most recent of which being in May 2023. This coincided with the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the restoration of relations between them through the visit of H.H. Pope Shenouda III to the Vatican and his meeting with Pope John-Paul VI, on the 10th of May 1973.
The dialogue during the meeting revolved around the statement of the Coptic Orthodox Church that was issued by the Holy Synod in March 2024, which included its rejection of the so-called same-sex marriage. Cardinal Victor Fernandez stressed that the Catholic Church fully supports this statement and is committed to everything contained in it, considering that these are the teachings of the Holy Bible.
He pointed out that the document on Human Dignity issued by the Catholic Church clearly declares that marriage is only between a man and a woman after which children are born, stressing the Catholic Church’s complete rejection of same-sex marriage.
The Cardinal indicated that he had provided a comprehensive clarification of this issue in a detailed letter as requested by the delegation of the Oriental Orthodox Churches in the Dialogue Committee with the Catholic Church, which was held in January 2024.
At the end of the meeting, H.H. Pope Tawadros referred to the path of love between the two Churches and the importance of dialogue, after evaluating the accomplishmemts of the past twenty years and the necessity of developing more effective methods and mechanisms for it.
H.H. Pope Tawadros asked the Cardinal to convey his greetings of love and appreciation to His Holiness Pope Francis.
The meeting was attended by Cardinal Nicholas Henry, the Vatican Ambassador to Egypt.
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