A Hidden Church in Cairo Pins Its Hopes on Good Will From the Pope’s Visit
Most, like Father Saad, belong to the Coptic Catholic Church, the largest of the six Eastern Rite churches
that are loyal to the pope, even if their teachings diverge from Rome on issues that range from the esoteric (whether purgatory exists) to the pragmatic, like a decision, decades ago, to allow married men, like Father Saad, to enter the priesthood.
As publicity about the visit started to build two weeks ago, Father Saad took the plunge
and made the official application to legalize his new church, hoping to capitalize on the wave of good will toward the pontiff.
It made us cheat." For the past decade, his small Coptic Catholic congregation in a gritty north Cairo suburb has been trying
to build a new church in the teeth of official resistance — a common tale in Egypt, where the law panders to old prejudices.
But Father Saad still lacks a vital element — government permission — which leaves his church with the legal status of a religious speakeasy.
Yet even the rickshaw drivers know it is a church, Father Saad said, so he and his congregation are bracing for possible trouble.
"I think he’s a great priest." Merna, 16, chimed in: "I think he’s the best." Their father’s battle to build
a new house of worship highlights the enduring discrimination against Christians codified in Egyptian law.