Arab West Report Egyptian press summaries and media research for dialogue

Pope Shenouda III, the Patriarch of the See of Saint Mark, has rejected outright a ruling handed down recently by the Administrative Judiciary Court, compelling the Coptic Orthodox Church to allow its congregation divorced by virtue of court rulings to marry for a second time.

Replying to a question after his weekly sermon at the Coptic cathedral, the pope said that no power on earth can force the church to observe anything that runs counter to the teachings of the Bible and the conscience of the church, said author Sāmih Sāmī in a news item on the front page of Watanī newspaper dated March 19, 2006.

The pope elaborated that he would defrock any priest in the Coptic Church approving marriages without prior permission from the Clerical Council or without making sure that the second marriage is in conformity with the teachings of the Bible. (Watanī, March 19, 2006)

The court had said that the Egyptian constitution has approved the principle of equality among all citizens and that each and every citizen enjoys the right to build a family whose mainstay is religion and morals (Rose al-Yousuf, March 15, 2006).

Bishop Irmīyā, the secretary of Pope Shenouda, said the church would never change its beliefs, adding the church does not recognize court rulings granting the right for divorced Christians to re-marry, wrote author Michael ‘Ādil in a front-page article in Rose al-Yousuf, March 16, 2006.

The clergyman said that the court has no right to give a permission for divorced Christians to marry for a second time, noting that Christians would be considered adulterers and adulteresses if they married without the church’s consent. (Rose al-Yousuf, March 16, 2006)

The Coptic Church says it does not allow divorce except in the cases of adultery and the invalidity of the marriage contract, when there are incorrect data given by either the husband or wife, or when the husband turns out to be sexually impotent (al-Hayāt, March 15, 2006).

Mamdouh Ramzī, the lawyer for Pope Shenouda III, said the court ruling is very hard to enforce as it clashes with the concept of the sanctity of marriage (al-Hayāt, March 15, 2006).