U.S. Copts Association

By  Amr Bayoumi   

Close resources to Pope Shenouda III said the church is considering holding the Ramadan banquet sponsored annually by Pope Shenouda at Cleveland Hospital in the U.S. The banquet would be attended by members of the Egyptian embassy and Egypt’s UN delegate.

Dr. Tharwat Bassili, undersecretary of the Coptic Community Council, said that it is inappropriate to hold the banquet while the Pope is not present in Cairo, but said the final decision was not yet taken. Meanwhile, the church decided to stop issuing the official church magazine Al-Karazah until the return of the Pope.

A source with the church, who requested anonymity, mentioned that the magazine published an editorial that said the Pope was left lying on the floor for 8 hours after injury, contradicting the statement issued by the Synod. This prompted the bishops’ indignation.

Bassili, who is with the Pope in Cleveland, denied what has been circulated about the Pope having thyroid cancer. He said the long absence of the Pope gave the chance for such rumors. “As a matter of fact, the Pope is recovering very well, but the date of his return has not yet been decided,” he said.