From Catholic Culture.org:
Egypt may relax restrictions on building churches
June 21, 2011
The post-Mubarak Egyptian government is considering a proposal to relax restrictions on the building of churches. Currently, only the president may approve the construction of a church; under the proposal, regional governors would make a decision within three months.
“If these proposals come into law, it could mean that building churches will be almost on the same level as constructing mosques,” said Coptic Catholic Bishop Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan of Asyut. “What we are seeing here is one of the first fruits of the demonstrations back in January. When the Christians demonstrated, they asked for their rights and the first right they demanded was the construction of churches.”
“More than 50% of the problems Christians face will be resolved if we can make progress on this issue.”
And this, related, from Aid to the Church in Need:
Egypt: Bishop’s optimism as government plans to ease church building restrictions
Posted by Press Release on 21/6/2011, 1:54 pm
Board Administrator
ACN News; Tuesday, 21st June – EGYPT
Building churches – the easier way
Bishop’s optimism as government plans to ease church building restrictions
John Pontifex
OBTAINING permission to build new churches in Egypt could become almost as easy as constructing mosques according to new government proposals which have won the backing of leading clergy.
The scheme, now out to public consultation, proposes to do away with the existing laws whereby church-building plans require permission from the president himself.
Instead, such proposals would go before the regional governor for a decision within three months.
Until now, decisions over applications for new churches have sometimes been delayed for many years, even decades.
Responding to the new proposals put forward by the interim military regime which replaced President Hosni Mubarak’s government in February 2011, Bishop Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan said he was “optimistic”.
In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop William said that already the government were showing signs of easing restrictions on church-building.
He said that permission to build two churches in his diocese in Upper Egypt had come through before the 25th January Revolution which climaxed with Mubarak’s departure from office.
Applications for another three churches have been approved in the last few weeks, leaving just one outstanding, with a decision expected soon.
Bishop William said the proposals, which the government could decide upon within a matter of weeks, marked a crucial step forward for the 10 million Christians in Egypt, where tight restrictions on Church-building are frequently cited as one of the most serious forms of anti-Christian oppression.
(Bishop Kyrillos William of Assiut)
He said: “If these proposals come into law, it could mean that building churches will be almost on the same level as constructing mosques. It is a major step forward for the citizenship of Christians.”
“What we are seeing here is one of the first fruits of the demonstrations back in January. When the Christians demonstrated, they asked for their rights and the first right they demanded was the construction of churches.
“Everybody knows that this has been a big problem for the Christians. Many moderate people have recognised it.
“In fact more than 50 percent of the problems Christians face will be resolved if we can make progress on this issue.”
As a Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Aid to the Church in Need has given key support for building parish centres, presbyteries, parish halls and other Church structures, supporting schemes even in the face of government resistance.
But the proposals are controversial for hard-line conservative Islamists, including Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist political movement now liberated after decades of tight control under President Mubarak.
The extremists’ action against increased tolerance for Christians climaxed on 7th May when they attacked three Coptic Orthodox churches in the Imbaba suburb of Cairo, where 15 people died and more than 230 were injured.
Bishop William said that despite initial progress, Islamists were now losing support in the run-up to all-important parliamentary and presidential elections in the autumn.
He said that a number of governors – including the one for Assiut – were so far open to Christians and resistant to extremists’ demands to shift the country towards an Islamic theocracy.
The bishop said: “Of course the Salafist continue to interfere but their campaign of slander cannot get the support of moderate Muslims who do not accept their complaints against Christians.
“We hold inter-faith meetings during which speeches are presented by religious representatives. These presentations are intended to promote mutual respect and cooperation.”
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.
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, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 162 languages and 48 million copies have been distributed all over the world.
While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material.
For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, 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.
Egypt may relax restrictions on building churches
June 21, 2011
The post-Mubarak Egyptian government is considering a proposal to relax restrictions on the building of churches. Currently, only the president may approve the construction of a church; under the proposal, regional governors would make a decision within three months.
“If these proposals come into law, it could mean that building churches will be almost on the same level as constructing mosques,” said Coptic Catholic Bishop Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan of Asyut. “What we are seeing here is one of the first fruits of the demonstrations back in January. When the Christians demonstrated, they asked for their rights and the first right they demanded was the construction of churches.”
“More than 50% of the problems Christians face will be resolved if we can make progress on this issue.”
And this, related, from Aid to the Church in Need:
Egypt: Bishop’s optimism as government plans to ease church building restrictions
Posted by Press Release on 21/6/2011, 1:54 pm
Board Administrator
ACN News; Tuesday, 21st June – EGYPT
Building churches – the easier way
Bishop’s optimism as government plans to ease church building restrictions
John Pontifex
OBTAINING permission to build new churches in Egypt could become almost as easy as constructing mosques according to new government proposals which have won the backing of leading clergy.
The scheme, now out to public consultation, proposes to do away with the existing laws whereby church-building plans require permission from the president himself.
Instead, such proposals would go before the regional governor for a decision within three months.
Until now, decisions over applications for new churches have sometimes been delayed for many years, even decades.
Responding to the new proposals put forward by the interim military regime which replaced President Hosni Mubarak’s government in February 2011, Bishop Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan said he was “optimistic”.
In an interview with Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop William said that already the government were showing signs of easing restrictions on church-building.
He said that permission to build two churches in his diocese in Upper Egypt had come through before the 25th January Revolution which climaxed with Mubarak’s departure from office.
Applications for another three churches have been approved in the last few weeks, leaving just one outstanding, with a decision expected soon.
Bishop William said the proposals, which the government could decide upon within a matter of weeks, marked a crucial step forward for the 10 million Christians in Egypt, where tight restrictions on Church-building are frequently cited as one of the most serious forms of anti-Christian oppression.
(Bishop Kyrillos William of Assiut)
He said: “If these proposals come into law, it could mean that building churches will be almost on the same level as constructing mosques. It is a major step forward for the citizenship of Christians.”
“What we are seeing here is one of the first fruits of the demonstrations back in January. When the Christians demonstrated, they asked for their rights and the first right they demanded was the construction of churches.
“Everybody knows that this has been a big problem for the Christians. Many moderate people have recognised it.
“In fact more than 50 percent of the problems Christians face will be resolved if we can make progress on this issue.”
As a Catholic charity for persecuted and other suffering Christians, Aid to the Church in Need has given key support for building parish centres, presbyteries, parish halls and other Church structures, supporting schemes even in the face of government resistance.
But the proposals are controversial for hard-line conservative Islamists, including Salafists and the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist political movement now liberated after decades of tight control under President Mubarak.
The extremists’ action against increased tolerance for Christians climaxed on 7th May when they attacked three Coptic Orthodox churches in the Imbaba suburb of Cairo, where 15 people died and more than 230 were injured.
Bishop William said that despite initial progress, Islamists were now losing support in the run-up to all-important parliamentary and presidential elections in the autumn.
He said that a number of governors – including the one for Assiut – were so far open to Christians and resistant to extremists’ demands to shift the country towards an Islamic theocracy.
The bishop said: “Of course the Salafist continue to interfere but their campaign of slander cannot get the support of moderate Muslims who do not accept their complaints against Christians.
“We hold inter-faith meetings during which speeches are presented by religious representatives. These presentations are intended to promote mutual respect and cooperation.”
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.
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, Aid to the Church in Need’s Child’s Bible – God Speaks to his Children has been translated into 162 languages and 48 million copies have been distributed all over the world.
While ACN gives full permission for the media to freely make use of the charity’s press releases, please acknowledge ACN as the source of stories when using the material.
For more information or to make a donation to help the work of Aid to the Church in Need, 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.
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