Aid to the Church in Need: The Egyptian Catholic Church

The Egyptian Catholic Church - “The leaven in the dough”

Posted by ACN News on 6/11/2009, 10:41 am
Board Administrator

The Egyptian Catholic Church
“The leaven in the dough”

By Mario Bard

In a recent interview with the Catholic chatity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), Msgr. Ibrahim Sedrak, the Coptic Catholic Bishop of Minya, Egypt, spoke about the social and pastoral work being done by his Church in a milieu where they are a minority and where a patient and consistent dialogue is needed.

“The Catholic Church is a leaven in the dough”, began Msgr. Sedrak. His social activism in a minority context is considerable. This social and pastoral development is translated into many concrete works and actions which give the Church (which is at least eight million people strong) a respected public persona in a population of more than 80 million inhabitants.

In the diocese of Minya, where one can find 50,000 Coptics of the Catholic rite, the Bishop commented that the Church supports “marginalized categories of people such as the handicapped, the deaf, the mute and the sick.” The bishop also explained that prisoners were also helped along with their families. “Over time, there were even children who were becoming criminals! So, little by little and with care, the work done with them diminished significantly the number of those who would otherwise choose the same road as their parents had. There has been great progress” he said proudly.

In the area of education, there are more than 185 catholic schools in Egypt, five of which are in the diocese of Minya and they hope to build another. Education plays quite a crucial role according to the bishop. It allows not only for the creation of a better foundation for society on an intellectual front, but also encourages a more open dialogue between Christians and Muslims so that they, remarked Bishop Sedrak, have a certain openness to their mentality. They have become ready to dialogue regardless because they have experimented with love and with the good catholic conduct of Christians.

(Mgrs. Ibrahim Sedrak, bishop of Minya, Egypt)

This dialogue is sometimes complicated by the daily discrimination encountered by Christians at all levels. “Personally, as a Christian leader, I have problems building a church, without a doubt. According to the rule, nothing is clear.” However, Msgr. Sedrak brings with him a nuance: even Muslims find themselves at different levels before laws that are “weakened” by “corruption” and “a disorder that invades everywhere.” He estimates that from the political point of view “even Muslims are suffering.”

“In Egypt, one must distinguish between Islam and Muslims”, he remarks regarding their interreligious dialogue. “With Islam, I cannot go very far, because we will be discussing dogmas – convictions which will never change. However, with Muslims, people who live with me every day, I can dialogue.” Especially with those people who, as we indicated earlier, have attended Catholic schools, as well as those who have used the social services open to everyone and put in place by the Church. “One must distinguish between simple, everyday people who are seeking their daily bread [and Islam]. If you are of service to them, you are considered to be a good person... and then, they will like you!”

Msgr. Sedrak was also worried about the exodus of young people, and Christians in particular. He explained that it was easy to leave the country and believed that at times this exodus was in fact supported by the national government and even the international community. These may appear to be strong words to those who are leaving a country where they face discrimination on a daily basis. However, the bishop of Minya had a different perspective: “I believe that to be Christian in a country that is majority Muslim, is a vocation. To stand your ground requires prayer, courage, wisdom and strength... and a helping hand from outside.... Egypt, we must help, because it is a very important country at all levels: for Africa, for the Middle-East and even for the world”!

Msgr. Sedrak also attended the recent Synod on Africa, held at the Vatican from the 4th to the 25th of October and commented on what he thought were the concrete fruits of this Synod.

According to the bishop the main fruits of the Synod were 'getting along together' and the sharing of experiences, misfortunes and difficulties with the assembly of bishops, experts and those interested in the Church in Africa that had gather for the important meeting.

The Bishop also believed that the Church had a prophetic role to play in Africa, "Having the courage to speak the truth when it is needed. Saying yes when needed, and saying no when needed. Not always evading problems, that is a prophetic role in my opinion.”

Another remarkable happening for Msgr. Sedrak was the fact that he could ‘count himself’ among Africans. “Before, as an Egyptian' he said, "I did not consider myself to be an African, but now, I have something new.” Along with this ‘new sense of belonging’ to the Church of Africa, the bishop of Minya was touched by the Holy Father’s presence at the Synod. He “leaves his work to be present with us...and he was really there!” A situation, he believes “changes a Churches’ mentality; meaning: there are not great and small; there is but one Church.”

Last year, Aid to the Church in Need supported Church projects in Egypt in the amount of more than $500 000 dollars.

Editor’s Notes:

Directly under the Holy See, Aid to the Church in Need supports the faithful wherever they are persecuted, oppressed or in pastoral need. ACN is a Catholic charity – helping to bring Christ to the world through prayer, information and action.

Founded in 1947 by Fr Werenfried van Straaten, whom Pope John Paul II named “An outstanding Apostle of Charity”, the organisation is now at work in about 130 countries throughout the world.

The charity undertakes thousands of projects every year including providing transport for clergy and lay Church workers, construction of church buildings, funding for priests and nuns and help to train seminarians. Since the initiative’s launch in 1979, 46.5 million Aid to the Church in Need Child’s Bibles have been distributed worldwide.

For more information, please contact the Australian 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: [url=http://www.aidtochurch.org ]www.aidtochurch.org

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Aid to the Church in Need PO Box 6245 Blacktown DC NSW 2148 ABN: 62 418 911 594
Ph/Fax (02) 9679-1929 e-mail: info@aidtochurch.org web: www.aidtochurch.org