Cairo, Egypt, Jun 21, 2011 / 23:09 pm
Egypt’s burdensome regulations on church-building could be removed under new government proposals which one local bishop says would mark a “major step forward for the citizenship of Christians” and a vindication of the public protests begun on January 25.
“What we are seeing here is one of the first fruits of the demonstrations back in January. When the Christians demonstrated, they asked for their rights and the first right they demanded was the construction of churches,” said Coptic Catholic Bishop Kyrillos Kamal William Samaan of Assiut.
“Everybody knows that this has been a big problem for the Christians. Many moderate people have recognized it,” Bishop William told Aid to the Church in Need.
He said more than half of the problems Christians face will be resolved if they make progress on this issue.