The Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt has addressed a memo to the Military Council calling upon its head
The Coptic Catholic Church in Egypt has addressed a memo to the Military Council calling upon its head, Field Marshall Hussein Tantawi to reconsider the member selection of the constituent assembly.
The official memo which was presented by Anba Kyrillos William, the patriarchal manager of the Coptic Catholic Church, who alleged that the Islamist-majority parliament was attempting to take over power. The Coptic Catholic Church demanded that all sectors of the Egyptian community should be adequately represented in the constituent assembly, and described the current committee which utterly overlooked the Church and Christians, as ‘deceiving’.
The memo stressed that the current constituent assembly has marginalised all minorities, including women, Nubians and Shiite. “With the current politically unbalanced constituent assembly, Egypt’s constitution will not express the entirety of the community, especially after the withdrawal of the liberal members who call for a civic State,” said Anba Kyrillos.
Simultaneously, the Evangelical Church and its Melli Council issued a statement calling upon the authorities to take corrective measures to ensure that the constituent assembly that is to draft Egypt’s constitution, represents all Egyptians and sets the basis for a civic State based on citizenship, freedom, justice and equality. The statement stressed that the constitution is the contract that guarantees social peace to all sectors of the community, and thus no political stream should monopolise its drafting and no political stream should be left out, regardless of majority or minority.
Last Sunday, the Melli (Community) Council of the Coptic Orthodox Church took a decision to withdraw the Church representatives from the constituent assembly tasked with drafting the Constitution,
The Coptic Orthodox Church Melli Council’s statement insisted that the constitution should be drafted through national dialogue and consensus, not through the parliamentary majority.
Meanwhile, the acting Patriarch, Anba Pachomeus stressed during a commemoration held for the late Pope Shenouda III at the Journalists Syndicate that national unity does not mean majority hegemony.
Watani International
3 April 2012
