AFRICA/EGYPT - "The Church in Egypt is in a phase of discernment" says the National Director of the PMS

Rome (Agenzia Fides) - "The Church in Egypt is in a phase of discernment" says to Fides Fr. Nabil Fayez Antoun, National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies (PMS) in Egypt who is in Rome for the General Assembly of the PMS. "The Egyptian society is moving and for the Church now is the time to figure out whether to give priority to the service to the small Christian community, or open up to service for the entire Egyptian people," explains Fr. Antoun.
"There are, however, on our behalf, signs of greater openness. For example, we are forming young people to enter the world of politics, so that they are at the service of all Egyptians. In my small way I am promoting encounters between young Christians and young Muslims. In Egypt the lack of places of meeting and dialogue between people of different faiths to discuss common problems is felt," said the Director of the Egyptian PMS.
Among the common problems, Fr. Antoun highlights those arising from the secular culture that financial globalization has imposed on the world. "Globalization is a tsunami that sweeps away everyone" said Fr. Antoun. "Even in Egypt we feel the effects of secularization, I think of the families who fall apart, and the scourge of abortion, unspoken, but present."
"The Islamic fundamentalists are a reaction to this state of things: they claim to create a wall to shield the society from the culture brought by globalization. They seem to attack but they are actually in a position of defense" concludes Fr. Antoun. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 10/5/2012)