In his first trip abroad, the patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church meets the pope, invites him to visit Egypt. Interfaith dialogue and relations between Catholics and Orthodox are among the issues the two leaders discussed.

Rome (AsiaNews) - During his visit to Pope Francis, Tawadros II, patriarch of the Coptic Orthodox Church, talked about the situation in Egypt, interfaith dialogue between Muslims and Christians and the relationship between Catholics and Orthodox. The patriarch also called on Francis Pope to visit Egypt, which he described as the land where civilisation was born.

Fr Ragic Greiche, spokesman for the Egyptian Catholic Church and a member of the delegation, said that the visit was "a great example of friendship and cordiality between the heads of the two Churches."

"Pope Francis," he explained, "feels very close to the Christians of Egypt; the sufferings of the people affected by the economic crisis and continuing cases of violence and religious hatred are close to his heart."

The Holy Father has not ruled out a future visit to this land, where Catholics are represented by Mgr Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, Catholic Coptic archbishop of Alexandria.

This is Tawadros II's first trip outside of Egypt. By choosing to visit the Pope, he is emphasising the closeness between the two Christian denominations, Fr P. Greiche explained.

"The meeting," he said, "was moving in other ways. After the meeting, Francis and the delegation prayed together in Coptic, Arabic and English."

Tawadros II's visit to the Vatican and Italy will last until 13 May. In the coming days, the patriarch will visit the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity and other departments of the Roman Curia.

Tomorrow, he is scheduled to visit the tombs of the Apostles Peter and Paul, and on Sunday, he will meet members of Rome's Orthodox Coptic community. (S.C.)

 

• egypt
• vatican
• tawadros
• francis
• meeting