Activation of the Church Construction Law in Egypt... New land for Catholic Copts.

The law for building and restoring churches in Egypt (issued in 2016) did not remain confined to the pages. It has been activated, and its results are manifested in the increase of new churches by the hundreds. And the latest manifestation of the law was yesterday, when the country's government announced the granting of a piece of land to the Coptic Catholic Church.

The text of Article One of the decision by the Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly No. 2278/2024, published in the official gazette, states: "A piece of land from state-owned private properties, approximately 0.36 acres, equivalent to 1500 m² in the city of Kharga (Kharga/ Dakhla Road) - New Valley Governorate, according to the attached map and coordinates table, is allocated free of charge to the Coptic Catholic Patriarchate for the establishment of a church for the Catholic community.

The Bishop of the Catholic Coptic Archdiocese of Sohag, Anba Thomas Habib, expressed his happiness with the issuance of the decision, which came in response to a previous request submitted by the church to the government officials.

Habib revealed the existence of a migration movement from Sohag, not only external but also internal. He said, "The lack of jobs and employment opportunities forces some of them to move to neighboring areas such as Hurghada, which overlooks the sea, or New Valley, which has vast agricultural lands. There, some buy a piece of land that is usually not very expensive and work on cultivating it while raising some animals.

He added: "About 50 Christian families, mostly young people, have fled from our diocese in the city of Sohag to the New Valley." And some time ago, I appointed a priest to take care of them. The influence of families on each other was an additional reason for this migration. And with the construction of the church, the numbers are expected to rise.

Regarding the steps that will follow the land acquisition, Habib emphasized the necessity of starting the licensing procedures and then hastening the construction of the church; the deadline for completing the construction operations according to the law does not exceed three years; otherwise, the state will reclaim the land.

Habib confirmed the surge in land provided by the Egyptian government to the church, such as the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle, which he oversees the reconstruction of in the new (emerging) Sohag area. He concluded by pointing out that the economic crisis has affected the progress of the construction process, which he hopes to complete by Easter.