Vatican Report. John Thavis: All eyes are on Egypt this week, as demonstrations have brought the country to a political crossroads. The Vatican is also watching events there closely, because they could …More
Vatican Report.
John Thavis: All eyes are on Egypt this week, as demonstrations have brought the country to a political crossroads. The Vatican is also watching events there closely, because they could affect the future of the approximately 8 million Christians who live in Egypt. I’m John Thavis, Catholic News Service Rome bureau chief.
CW: and I’m Cindy wooden, CNS Rome correspondent. The political unrest in Egypt has weakened the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years. It’s been hailed on the outside as a long-overdue reform movement in a country beset by poverty and corruption. But no one is certain about the outcome. Church leaders are primarily worried about two things: the risk of instability and bloodshed, and the possibility that Mubarak’s secular government could be replaced by a more radical Islamic regime.
JT: People here remember what happened in Iran 30 years ago, when the ayatollahs came to political power and installed a strict Islamic republic. Most analysts think that’s unlikely in Egypt. For one thing, religion has not been a main issue in the current unrest, and the country is considered moderate in the Islamic world. But what Egyptians think about this is a matter of debate. Last year, a Pew Research survey found that the overwhelming majority of Egyptians favor democracy. But an almost equal number said they would support Islamic fundamentalists over groups that want to modernize the country.
CW: That helps explain why many Coptic Christians, the largest church group in Egypt, still back President Mubarak. This week, Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church, told Egyptian state television that he had called Mubarak to tell him: “We are all with you and the people are with you.” Coptic Christians are not completely happy with the Mubarak government. After the deadly New Year’s bombing of a church in Cairo, they protested the lack of protection. But many are afraid that a power vacuum in Egypt would be worse, giving more influence to extremist factions.
JT: Vatican officials have kept a very low profile during this transition phase in Egypt. There have been no major pronouncements from the pope or any of his aides. Privately, sources here are saying the church does not want to be seen as actively supporting any political faction in Egypt. Relations between the Vatican and Egypt were already strained by a diplomatic incident in January, after the pope criticized anti-Christian discrimination in Egypt.
CW: Those words by the pope also caused Muslim academics in Cairo to suspend dialogue with the Vatican. The future of that dialogue is now more questionable than ever. The Islamic scholars of the Al-Azhar Mosque and University had been the Vatican’s main dialogue partners, and were thought to reflect Mubarak’s moderate line on interfaith relations. Now, students and clerics from al-Azhar have joined the anti-Mubarak protests. So it’s definitely a time of uncertainty for the Vatican architects of dialogue.
JT: All this is happening in a country that, for many centuries had a large Christian population. Egyptian Christians believe it was St. Mark the Evangelist who brought the faith to their land in the first century. Christianity was widespread in Egypt by the fourth century and remained so until Islam became dominant in the 12th century. Today, as Egypt faces a political turning point, many believe the church’s future also hangs in the balance. I’m John Thavis.
John Thavis: All eyes are on Egypt this week, as demonstrations have brought the country to a political crossroads. The Vatican is also watching events there closely, because they could affect the future of the approximately 8 million Christians who live in Egypt. I’m John Thavis, Catholic News Service Rome bureau chief.
CW: and I’m Cindy wooden, CNS Rome correspondent. The political unrest in Egypt has weakened the rule of President Hosni Mubarak, who has been in power for 30 years. It’s been hailed on the outside as a long-overdue reform movement in a country beset by poverty and corruption. But no one is certain about the outcome. Church leaders are primarily worried about two things: the risk of instability and bloodshed, and the possibility that Mubarak’s secular government could be replaced by a more radical Islamic regime.
JT: People here remember what happened in Iran 30 years ago, when the ayatollahs came to political power and installed a strict Islamic republic. Most analysts think that’s unlikely in Egypt. For one thing, religion has not been a main issue in the current unrest, and the country is considered moderate in the Islamic world. But what Egyptians think about this is a matter of debate. Last year, a Pew Research survey found that the overwhelming majority of Egyptians favor democracy. But an almost equal number said they would support Islamic fundamentalists over groups that want to modernize the country.
CW: That helps explain why many Coptic Christians, the largest church group in Egypt, still back President Mubarak. This week, Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Coptic Church, told Egyptian state television that he had called Mubarak to tell him: “We are all with you and the people are with you.” Coptic Christians are not completely happy with the Mubarak government. After the deadly New Year’s bombing of a church in Cairo, they protested the lack of protection. But many are afraid that a power vacuum in Egypt would be worse, giving more influence to extremist factions.
JT: Vatican officials have kept a very low profile during this transition phase in Egypt. There have been no major pronouncements from the pope or any of his aides. Privately, sources here are saying the church does not want to be seen as actively supporting any political faction in Egypt. Relations between the Vatican and Egypt were already strained by a diplomatic incident in January, after the pope criticized anti-Christian discrimination in Egypt.
CW: Those words by the pope also caused Muslim academics in Cairo to suspend dialogue with the Vatican. The future of that dialogue is now more questionable than ever. The Islamic scholars of the Al-Azhar Mosque and University had been the Vatican’s main dialogue partners, and were thought to reflect Mubarak’s moderate line on interfaith relations. Now, students and clerics from al-Azhar have joined the anti-Mubarak protests. So it’s definitely a time of uncertainty for the Vatican architects of dialogue.
JT: All this is happening in a country that, for many centuries had a large Christian population. Egyptian Christians believe it was St. Mark the Evangelist who brought the faith to their land in the first century. Christianity was widespread in Egypt by the fourth century and remained so until Islam became dominant in the 12th century. Today, as Egypt faces a political turning point, many believe the church’s future also hangs in the balance. I’m John Thavis.