Egyptian Endowments Minister Mahmūd Hamdī Zaqzūq and Gregorius III, Patriarch of Antioch, All the East and Alexandria and Jerusalem, met on Saturday to discuss the recent quarrel following the Vatican pope’s call for improved protection of Middle Eastern Christians in light of the recent church attack in Alexandria.
Five different Egyptian newspapers carried stories involving the meeting, which took place in Cairo.
According to state-supported al-Ahrām, the patriarch stressed that, although the statement made by Pope Benedict XVI provoked an angry Egyptian reaction, it did not contain any offense to Egypt, blaming “a news channel” that had distorted its content.
The patriarch insisted that the Vatican respects Egypt and its status in the Islamic world.
Likewise, the minister of Endowments said that he emphasized Egypt’s respect for the Vatican pope.
However, Zaqzūq held firm his stance of total rejection of any interference with internal Egyptian affairs, saying that the protection of Copts is Egypt’s responsibility. According to Zaqzūq, Muslims and Copts are both the sons of one nation, and as such, any aggression against a church is equal to an assault against a mosque.
[The report also appeared in Al-Dustūr, Al-Akhbār, Rose al-Yūsuf, and Al-Ahrār]
