Pope Tawadros urges all countries to participate to defeat I.S.

CAIRO - 1 September 2017: Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark’s Diocese stressed in his interview with ABC radio Australia on Wednesday that all countries, especially those who finance terrorism, should participate and cooperate to defeat the Islamic State (IS).

He also emphasized that the solution to terrorism lies in education to create an open-minded generation, as the misunderstanding of religion has led to the policies and ideologies of terrorist groups.

Asking about the relationship between the Egyptian government and the church, Pope Tawadros stated that the “church has a good relation with the president, the government and with all corners of society,” pointing out that It is a national church and completely separated from the government.

He also said that Egypt is a “wounded” country and there are weak points in different villages which suffer from economic and educational problems.

When asked about the latest Palm Sunday attacks, Pope Tawadros recalled his narrow escape from a church bombing saying that the prayer of Palm Sunday is long prayer and it was supposed to end at 1 p.m. but the prayer finished one hour early. He stated that “this is considered a miracle because in this one hour all believers and I left the church.”

At last, Pope Tawadros II urged western countries to respect Egypt’s traditions, language, values, daily life and the relation between Christians and Muslims. He also added that the policies of western governments affect the stability of Syria and Iraq.

Pope Tawadros II arrived on Wednesday in Australia and will continue until September 13.

This was the second stop of his papal tour, which has already taken him to Japan. Upon their arrival, the Egyptian ambassador to Australia Mohamed Khairat and members of the Egyptian embassy welcomed them. During the visit, the pope will carry out several pastoral activities and inaugurate a number of service projects.