Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

President Hosni Mubarak received Pope Shenouda III, the Pope of Alexandria and the See of St. Mark, in Ra’as

Al-Tin palace, in Alexandria. In a two hour meeting the president and the pope discussed the issues

concerning

Copts and how to maintain national unity. Pope Shenouda made no statements after the meeting.

Although neither the presidential sources nor those of the church spelled out the issues

discussed

at the meeting, the issue of the expelled monk, Adel Sa’ad Ghobrial, and what al-Nabaa published

about him were

certainly one of the issues discussed.



Most Copts believe that the meeting

between the president and

the pope is enough to close the file on this case and to stop the claims that the

security service supplied al-

Nabaa with the pornographic video of the expelled monk-a claim that the

President denied at a press conference.

On the other hand, Mamdouh Mahran, the Editor-in-

Chief of al-Nabaa paper, will hold a press

conference in which he has promised to explain all the facts of

the case of the expelled monk. He stated that he

would answer all the questions very explicitly, so that

the truth may be known without any alterations.