Aid to the Church in Need: Egypt: "We Christians must show Egypt a face of love"

Egypt: "We Christians must show Egypt a face of love"

Posted by ACN News on 18/6/2008, 6:24 pm
Message modified by board administrator 22/6/2008, 9:34 am

ACN Newsflash 18/06/2008

Egypt: "We Christians must show Egypt a face of love"

In the face of recent attacks against Christians, at the beginning of June, the Coptic Catholic Bishop Antonios Aziz Mina of Guizeh has called on Christians to continue to show a face of love, friendship and fraternity. Sadly, evil is always loud and visible, he told the international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). But this was why it was important to give an authentic witness of love. His hope for all the people of Egypt was for them to be "at peace with themselves, with God and with others".

Two factors were above all responsible for violence and extremism, namely poverty and ignorance, the bishop continued, calling for both to be tackled still more vigorously. Mankind was responsible for the whole world, he said. More must be done to help the poorer countries, for where there is no future and no freedom, violence is often the result. The mass emigration could likewise be stopped if poverty were more strongly combated, for most people would not leave their country if only they had at least enough to guarantee their survival. But when this was not the case, they had the feeling that "nowhere could be worse than in their own country“. And yet when people did emigrate, they often found no work and in many cases even ended up in crime, Bishop Mina continued.

The Catholic Church is striving to create a new awareness among people. With her schools, hospitals and other educational programmes she is reaching out not only to Catholics, for these establishments are open to all Egyptians, the bishop told ACN. This was where the Church could bear witness to love "without directly speaking about Christ and without having to hold a Bible in one’s hand“ he added. "People know that I am a Christian and I am doing all this in the name of Christ". In this way a great deal could be done to contribute to peaceful coexistence between Christians and Muslims, he said.

There are somewhere between 8,000 and 9,000 Catholics living in the diocese of Guizeh. There are nine parishes and nine priests altogether, but three of these are ill and two of them are working in the seminary. Not surprisingly, the bishop’s most urgent need is for new priests. And while three young men have entered the seminary this year and two the previous year, the pastoral work is also growing more and more. Hence the promotion of vocations is his highest priority. As a result, working with young people is particularly important. There are a range of pastoral programmes, retreats and spiritual meetings with children and young people, the bishop told ACN. He finds it particularly beautiful that many schoolchildren who would otherwise have no space at home in their tiny houses to do their homework in peace, often come with their books into the church in order to learn there. Volunteers help them with their homework, a short prayer is said, and there is a little break for play in between. In this way the children and young people are living with the Church, he said.

"When someone says he has reached his goal, then he must be dead", the bishop emphasised. People reach their goal by taking the next step each time. This was also true of the life of the Church, he added. In this sense the Catholic Church in Egypt still had a great deal to do, he concluded.

Over 90% of the Egyptian people are Muslims, while around 6% are Christians, most of them Coptic Orthodox. Only an estimated 300,000 are Catholics.

For further information cause please contact the Sydney office of ACN on (02) 9679-1929. e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org or write to Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148. Web:www.aidtochurch.org

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