Egypt’s churches refuses to hold meetings with U.S. VP

CAIRO – 13 January 2018: Egyptian churches will not hold any meetings with U.S. Vice President Mike Pence, who is scheduled to visit Egypt on January 20, stressing that Copts take care of their issues themselves, according to official sources.

Official sources at the Coptic Orthodox Church declared that Pope Tawadros II refuses to talk about Copts’ status in Egypt with any foreign officials.

This announcement comes after the U.S. stated the reason for Pence’s upcoming visit is to assist persecuted religious minorities in the region and to declare the shared need to combat terrorism.

The sources added that no other date has been set for the meeting with Pence after the Pope’s previous refusal to meet in December.

President of the Evangelical Church in Egypt Andrea Zaki said that during Pence’s visit he will be abroad to attend celebrations organized by the Vatican from January 20 to January 22.

Meanwhile, Undersecretary of the Catholic Patriarchate Father Hani Bakhoum remarked that meetings will not be held between the leaders of the Catholic Church and the U.S. vice president.

On the other hand, a legal researcher stated that the U.S. administration has adopted a chaotic policy that aims to incite sectarianism to destabilize the Middle East, and it looks out for its own interests, not those of the Copts.

Pence will visit Egypt, Jordan and Israel from January 20 to 23, the White House announced on January 10, embarking on a tour originally planned for last month that was postponed because of U.S. President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.

Pence will hold talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, Jordan's King Abdullah and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the White House added.

After U.S. President Donald Trump had declared the move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem, Egypt’s Al-Azhar Grand Imam Ahmed al-Tayyeb announced his refusal to meet with the U.S. VP on December 8.

Coptic Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria and Patriarch of Saint Mark’s Diocese also declined Pence’s meeting invitation. “This decision affects millions of people's feelings in the region. How could we meet him after this?” the Pope said during an interview with the CBC television channel on January 8.