Vatican City, Jan 29, 2011 / 10:24 am
Following an Egyptian institution's decision to freeze inter-religious talks with the Vatican earlier this month, the head of the Pope's department for interfaith dialogue has voiced his assurance that the Holy See is still planning to attend their next scheduled meeting.
The Vatican official’s comments were unrelated to the massive civil unrest which has erupted in the country.
Relations between the Holy See and Egypt, and also between the Catholic Church and Islam, have had a rocky month and the Vatican is still trying to understand the cause.
During speeches highlighting a need for greater religious freedom earlier this month the Pope made reference to Egypt among other nations where attacks have taken place against Christians. He called the bombing attack on Coptic Christians in Egypt last New Year's Eve “yet another sign of the urgent need for the governments of the region to adopt ... effective measures for the protection of religious minorities.”