CAIRO - Egypt has recalled its ambassador from the Vatican for “consultations” over remarks made by the Holy See over Coptic Christians, an Egyptian official said on Tuseday.
“This recall is made against the background of new statements made in the Vatican, which Egypt considers an unacceptable intervention in its internal affairs,” said the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Hossam Zaki.
Pope Benedict XVI of the Vatican urged leaders of the world to protect Christians against attacks targeting them after 23 Coptic Christians were killed in a bombing outside a church in the Egyptian coastal city of Alexandria on the New Year’s Eve.
“Egypt will not allow any non-Egyptian side to intervene in its affairs under any pretext,” said Zaki, according to the official Middle East News Agency. “The Coptic issue lies at the core of Egypt’s internal affairs.”
Zaki added that Cairo was keen to maintain links with the Vatican despite the papal remarks over the Coptic Christians. “Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit refuted in a letter to his counterpart in the Vatican allegations made on the status of Copts in Egypt and their relations with the Muslims.”
Christians make up around 10 per cent of Egypt’s 80 million population, who are mostly Muslims. The church attack outraged Copts and Muslims, who poured into the streets for pro-national unity demonstrations.
The Egyptian authorities have not yet disclosed those behind the attack though they initially said “foreign elements” were involved.
