Vatican Doctrine Prefect Meets Coptic Pope Tawadros II in Cairo, Egypt, Over Fiducia Supplicans Concerns

The prefect of the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith travelled to Cairo to meet Tawadros II, leader of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The meeting was intended to ease tensions caused by the Vatican’s Fiducia supplicans declaration on the blessing of same-sex couples.

According to the report, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced in March that it firmly rejected the document. It also said that, because of the declaration, it would review its relations with the Catholic Church. The report describes the move as one that seemed to put relations between the two churches at risk.

In Cairo, the prefect sought to correct what he saw as a misunderstanding by telling the Coptic pope that the Catholic Church does not accept relations between people of the same sex. The report says it remains to be seen what effect the meeting will have within the Church of Alexandria, one of the historic patriarchal sees of the Church.

The report notes that the two churches separated in 451 at the Council of Chalcedon. It also recalls that in 1973 a meeting between Pope Paul VI and the predecessor of Tawadros II gave a significant boost to ecumenical dialogue (Matthew 5:9).

Source: Read the original report (translated from Spanish)