The work of the government commission committed to preparing a bill for the establishment of property management bodies belonging to the Catholic Church and to the Evangelical Churches in Egypt continues at an intense pace, reported Fides News Agency on January 28, 2020. “A few months ago,” reported Anba Kyrillos William, Coptic Catholic Bishop of Assiut, “The Catholic Church and the evangelical Christian denominations had sent the request to competent governmental bodies to establish bodies charged with the control and correct management of their properties and of their real estate. An ad hoc commission was formed which immediately got down to work”. Now, the media is beginning to give details on the bill that will lead to the establishment of new bodies for the management of ecclesiastical endowments. The draft law, also examined by the Parliamentary Commission for Religious Affairs, should lead within a short space of time to the establishment of the required management bodies, aimed at ensuring the correct administration of ecclesiastical assets and donations, including those at the center of legal disputes. “The bodies,” remarks Anba Kyrillos “will also have to monitor the correct use of donations and avoid any personal, private or clan advantage in the use of ecclesiastical goods”.
Recently, some Egyptian media have let details filter on the establishment of the new ecclesiastical property management bodies. As for the Catholic Church, the management body of ecclesiastical properties should be led by a Board of Directors, chaired by the Coptic Catholic Patriarch and made up of 12 members, half bishops and the other half priests, men and women religious, laypeople. The two management bodies must draw up and present to the competent civil authorities an annual report and balance sheet on the management of the ecclesiastical assets entrusted to them.
