Yet the international community must also be aware of the importance of promoting peace in the country so Christians can remain in their homes, he insisted.
"The tragedy is that the number of Christians in the Middle East has dwindled," Bishop Angaelos said, "because every other country where there was a significant Christian presence has been devastated by war or conflict and they have moved."
He estimated Egypt's Christian minority to make up around 80 percent of the overall Middle Eastern Christian population.
What can be done to help the embattled Coptic Christians?
"First and foremost prayer," the bishop explained. However, advocacy is also vital in a time when ongoing conflicts can be supplanted in the news cycle by even more terrible and explosive tragedies.
"Just because it's not the top item in your newsfeed doesn't mean it's [not] still happening," he maintained.
It is important "to keep the issue alive and to keep it in peoples' minds and in peoples' hearts, and to keep people aware that it continues to be a struggle," he said, "because they do feel very voiceless, and they sometimes feel very unsupported. And it's up to us, I think, to make sure that they don't feel that."
The U.S. must also pressure Egypt to ensure that Christians enjoy equal rights as the rest of the citizenry, he said.
International partners could accomplish a great deal of good through foreign investment and supporting tourism in the country, he explained. What is most needed is "not handouts," he insisted, "but an investment in the country and in the people of the country."
"This isn't just about governments. This is about individuals feeling vulnerable economically, and so therefore the weaker elements also become vulnerable to radicalization," he said.
The poor and the unemployed are more vulnerable to radicalization, he explained. "And we find that it is poor, unassuming people who are manipulated into these situations and unable to push back enough, unable to withstand the pressure. And they become prey."
(Story continues below)
Subscribe to our daily newsletter
At Catholic News Agency, our team is committed to reporting the truth with courage, integrity, and fidelity to our faith. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. When you subscribe to the CNA UPDATE, we'll send you a daily email with links to the news you need and, occasionally, breaking news.
As part of this free service you may receive occasional offers from us at EWTN News and EWTN. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time.
"What we see in the Christian community, of course, is that they suffer. The Christian communities suffer because those who work in private industry or in tourist industry are suffering."
Matt Hadro was the political editor at Catholic News Agency through October 2021. He previously worked as CNA senior D.C. correspondent and as a press secretary for U.S. Congressman Chris Smith.