I would like to thank Mr. President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi for inviting His Holiness Pope Francis of Rome to bless the land of Egypt and its people. I also thank His Holiness Pope Francis for his visit. Moreover, I would like to thank those who contributed to the success of this event, especially the organizers and the Egyptian armed forces and police. The Egyptian people have welcomed the Pope and attended the divine Liturgy.
Millions of Egyptians and people around the world watched the visit and the speech of the Pope that was full of love and tolerance, calling for peace and renouncing the violence and terrorism.
There were many benefits from this visit including the proof to the whole world that Egypt is safe and is able to secure such visit. It used 20.000 members of the armed forces and police, and was able to secure more than 25.000 worshippers at the holy mass in the Air Defense Stadium. However, the same police and army were not able to secure few hundreds of Christians who wanted to pray the holy week and celebrate the feast in Upper Egypt.
Egypt proved its ability to organize such international celebrations. The preparation and equipping of the air defense stadium was a role model to follow, and there was no required license or fanatics to refuse holding the holy mass on the holy Egyptian land. This is strange as many Christians are not able to hold prayers in their own homes fearing the bullying of the Salafists.
The manifestation of love and tolerance among the Egyptian people was crystal clear as all state institutions adopted slogans of love and brotherhood. The fanatics and their fatwas have completely disappeared during the visit.
Pope of the Vatican gave examples of humility and respect for Egyptian religious leadership by visiting Dr. Ahmed al-Tayeb, Sheikh of Al-Azhar, and Pope Tawadros at their headquarters.
The truth is that Egypt is able to secure the Coptic Christians and to shut the mouths of Salafis for they spread violence and hatred among the Egyptians. The state is able by it lacks the desire to do the job.
