Egypt's Coptic Pope Shenouda III will legally challenge the Supreme Administrative Court ruling issued last month obliging the Coptic Church to allow Coptic divorcees to remarry in Egypt
The church, citing biblical injunctions, has categorically rejected the verdict.
The pope Shenouda plans to point out that the ruling contradicts a previous verdict by the Court of Cassation, which ruled that marriage was a personal status issue that falls under church jurisdiction and barred the judiciary from interfering in church affairs, as is stipulated in Article I of Law 462 of 1955.
The pope plans to challenge the administrative court ruling before the Supreme Constitutional Court.
In a related development, Egypt's Coptic, Anglican and Catholic churches have agreed to amend the so-called "Unified Personal Status Draft Law for Non-Muslims"--currently under discussion by Egypt's Ministry of Justice before being submitted to parliament--and rename it the "Unified Law for Christians in Egypt"
