The Ad Limina Visit of Church of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria

The Synod of the Church of the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate of Alexandria is a small community of approximately 200,000 faithful that attests its fidelity to the Gospel in the midst of over 90 million Egyptians. It finds itself—said the Patriarch and the Bishops, received this morning for their Ad Limina Visit at the Dicastery for the Laity, Family and Life—facing the challenges of world globalization.

How can young people be prepared for marriage when spouses are forced by economic reasons to work in different cities? How should we face the new anthropological challenges? “The world of the family has changed,” they said; “The family as it was in the past centuries no longer exists. Emigration has mixed everything. We are a church that is meeting a new world.”

Yet the Church is committed to bearing witness to the Gospel, especially through education (in all eparchies, there are many Catholic schools) and charity. The Bishops emphasized that young people, even those who have not received adequate training, often engage in assisting the poorest, especially the elderly and prisoners. This leads them to ask questions about religion, and many come back to the faith and begin to participate in the sacramental life of the community.

During the dialogue with the Bishops, Cardinal Farrell, stressed the importance and the novelty of Amoris Laetitia and urged them not to seek easy answers but to start with real-life problems, as Pope Francis does in the Apostolic Exhortation.