The Coptic Orthodox Church's Holy Synod met under acting patriarch Bishop Pachomius on Wednesday (July 4) to exchange views about the constituent assembly drafting a new constitution for Egypt.
Several Synod members expressed concern because "current members of the committees in the constitution-drafting panel do not represent real balance of the different segments in the society".
A statement issued at the end of the meeting voiced the church's support for the texts on freedoms and rights spelled out in all of Egypt's previous constitutions as well as the international covenants Egypt has ratified, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The church also said it would stick to the civil aspect of the state in a modern constitutional democracy based on citizenship, respect for human rights, the freedoms of expression and opinion and avoidance f any forms of discrimination. [Author Not Mentioned, Watanī, July 8, p. 3] Read text in Arabic
