Coptic Catholic spokesman welcomes new Egyptian law on building churches

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A man stands amid rubble inside St. John Church that was burned by mobs in 2013 near Cairo. Egypt's Catholic Church has welcomed a new law to facilitate the building of Christian places of worship. (CNS/EPA/Giro Mais)

Jonathan Luxmoore
Catholic News Service | Sep. 2, 2016

OXFORD, ENGLAND The Coptic Catholic church has welcomed a new Egyptian law to facilitate the building of Christian places of worship.

On Aug. 30 Egypt passed a law codifying the rights of Christians to build and renovate churches in the mostly Muslim country. Under the new 10-article law, approved by the Egyptian parliament, regional governors must rule within four months on Christian church-building and renovation applications and provide a "justified decision," subject to appeal, if refusing authorization.

Critics have warned some provisions are vaguely worded and say clauses requiring the size of a church to be "commensurate with the number of Christian community members," taking account of "expected population growth," could be used by local officials to block permits.

"There've been some criticisms, but the government has tried to resolve any problems, and we now have a law which meets modern needs," said Fr. Rafic Greiche, spokesman for the Coptic Catholic church. "No law can be like the Bible -- it has to be interpreted and it can be changed. But having had the same law since the Ottoman Empire, we're satisfied we now have one which seeks to avoid sectarian enmities."

https://www.ncronline.org/news/world/coptic-catholic-spokesman-welcomes-new-egyptian-law-building-churches