CAIRO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman will hold a first-ever meeting on Monday with Egypt’s Coptic Pope Tawadros II during his visit to Cairo, according to a church spokesman.

Bin Salman is set to arrive in Cairo on Sunday for a three-day visit to Egypt for talks with Egyptian officials.

On Monday, he will visit the papal seat, the Coptic Orthodox Church, where he will meet Tawadros II, Paulos Halim told Anadolu Agency.

In April 2016, Saudi King Salman met with Tawadros during his visit to Cairo, the first-ever meeting between a Saudi monarch and the Coptic pope.

Bin Salman’s visit to Egypt is the first since he was appointed a crown prince in June 2017.

Coptic Christians are estimated to account for between 10 and 15 percent of Egypt’s population of about 100 million, according to the Coptic Church. AA </s> Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met with Coptic Pope Tawadros II during a visit to the largest Coptic cathedral in Cairo on Monday. The first of its kind in the history of Egyptian-Saudi relations.

The visit was part of a three-day stay in Egypt for Prince Mohammed whose objective is to strengthen ties between Saudi Arabia and the most important Coptic Church in the Middle East.

Cairo and Riyadh have moved closer together in recent years and Egypt has received billions of dollars in aid from Saudi Arabia. The two countries have set up a $10 billion mutual fund to develop a planned mega-city.

The promotion of moderate Islam is also among Prince Mohammed’s promises in his plans to transform Saudi Arabia and reduce its dependence on oil. </s> FILE PHOTO: Saudi Arabia's then Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman reacts upon his arrival at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, June 24, 2015. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

CAIRO (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral on Monday in what state media said was an unprecedented visit by an official from the conservative Muslim kingdom.

The visit was part of a three-day stay in Egypt for Prince Mohammed, his first public trip abroad since he became heir apparent last year. He will head for Britain and the United States later this month.

Cairo and Riyadh have strengthened ties in recent years and Egypt has received billions of dollars in aid from its rich Gulf Arab ally. The two countries on Sunday set up a $10 billion joint fund to develop a planned mega-city.

Prince Mohammed and Pope Tawadros walked together through St Mark’s Cathedral late on Monday, footage on Saudi TV channel al-Arabiya showed. Egypt’s state news agency MENA said it was the first visit of its kind, without elaborating.

The Gulf Arab kingdom is trying to shed its reputation as a global exporter of an ultra-conservative brand of Islam which critics say has inspired Islamist militants worldwide. Promoting a more moderate form of Islam is one of the more ambitious promises made by Prince Mohammed under plans to transform Saudi and reduce its reliance on oil.

Egypt has suffered from Islamist extremist violence in recent years, including attacks on churches often claimed by the ultra-violent Islamic State group. A bombing next to St Mark’s cathedral killed at least 25 people in December 2016.

Prince Mohammed’s visit comes as his close ally President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi prepares to run in an election he is virtually guaranteed to win.

Alongside posters urging people to vote for Sisi, large banners were put up in central Cairo on Monday with images of the Egyptian president, Prince Mohammed and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. “Welcome to your second country,” said one; another read “Saudi and Egypt are one hand, one nation.”

Egypt has sided with Saudi Arabia on a number of foreign policy issues, including a diplomatic and trade boycott of tiny gas-rich Qatar, and the support of forces battling Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. </s> A handout picture released by the press office of Abbasiya Cathedral on March 3, 2018, shows Pope Tawadros II (R), pope of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L), at the Cathedral of Abbasiya in Cairo. – AFP CAIRO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continued a visit to Egypt yesterday focused on economic cooperation, with Riyadh agreeing a $10 billion investment with Cairo for a futuristic mega city project. Prince Mohammed accompanied Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to review construction projects near the Suez Canal before boarding a boat with the president to tour the waterway. A Saudi government source said the two countries had agreed to set up a joint $10 billion fund to develop areas of Egypt linked to the NEOM project. The $500 billion NEOM mega city, unveiled by Prince Mohammed last year, is planned to be a biotech and digital hub spread over 26,500 sq km in an area facing Jordan and Egypt. The Saudi gove..

A handout picture released by the press office of Abbasiya Cathedral on March 3, 2018, shows Pope Tawadros II (R), pope of Egypt’s Coptic Orthodox Church, meeting with Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (L), at the Cathedral of Abbasiya in Cairo. – AFP

CAIRO: Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman continued a visit to Egypt yesterday focused on economic cooperation, with Riyadh agreeing a $10 billion investment with Cairo for a futuristic mega city project. Prince Mohammed accompanied Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi to review construction projects near the Suez Canal before boarding a boat with the president to tour the waterway. A Saudi government source said the two countries had agreed to set up a joint $10 billion fund to develop areas of Egypt linked to the NEOM project.

The $500 billion NEOM mega city, unveiled by Prince Mohammed last year, is planned to be a biotech and digital hub spread over 26,500 sq km in an area facing Jordan and Egypt. The Saudi government source said the joint fund, which involves leased land for the Egyptian share, would be used to develop lands in the south of the Sinai Peninsula as part of NEOM.

Prince Mohammed, who landed in Cairo on Sunday, is to fly to Britain tomorrow and later this month to the United States, in his first forays abroad as crown prince. His visit to Egypt deals with “economic and investment cooperation,” Egyptian presidency spokesman Bassam Radi told state television. Prince Mohammed and Sisi agreed in talks to bolster economic ties and launch joint projects, “particularly in the tourism sector on the Red Sea”, Radi said.

Later yesterday Prince Mohammed met Egypt’s top cleric Ahmed Al-Tayeb of the Al-Azhar institution, whose historic mosque in Cairo is being renovated with Saudi funding. He also met Coptic Pope Tawadros II at Cairo’s largest Coptic cathedral in what state media said was an unprecedented visit by an official from the conservative Muslim kingdom. Prince Mohammed and Pope Tawadros walked together through St Mark’s Cathedral late yesterday, footage on Saudi TV channel Al-Arabiya showed. Egypt’s state news agency MENA said it was the first visit of its kind, without elaborating.

The kingdom is trying to shed its reputation as a global exporter of an ultraconservative brand of Islam which critics say has inspired Islamist militants worldwide. Promoting a more moderate form of Islam is one of the more ambitious promises made by Prince Mohammed under plans to transform Saudi and reduce its reliance on oil.

Saudi Arabia views Egypt as a cornerstone of regional stability, after former army chief Sisi overthrew his Islamist predecessor Mohamed Morsi in 2013. Riyadh viewed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood with suspicion and at one point briefly recalled its ambassador from Cairo during his turbulent year in power. It has since showered Cairo with aid to prop up the country’s economy, in a relationship that has led to some controversy in Egypt.

Prince Mohammed’s visit also comes as Sisi prepares to run in an election he is virtually guaranteed to win. Alongside posters urging people to vote for Sisi, large banners were put up in central Cairo yesterday with images of the Egyptian president, Prince Mohammed and Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz. “Welcome to your second country,” said one; another read “Saudi and Egypt are one hand, one nation.” Egypt has sided with Saudi Arabia on a number of foreign policy issues, including a diplomatic and trade boycott of tiny gas-rich Qatar, and the support of forces battling Iranian-backed Houthi militants in Yemen. – Agencies </s> ABU DHABI, Feb 4 — Pope Francis, the first leader of the world’s 1.3 billion Catholics to visit the Arabian Peninsula, will attend an interfaith meeting in the UAE today as part of his outreach to Muslims.

The pontiff arrived in a modest black Kia at Abu Dhabi’s presidential palace, where he was welcomed with a lavish military parade.

Officers fired 21 shots in the air, while jets flew overhead leaving white and yellow trails — the colours of the Vatican City flag.

The pope’s highly publicised 48-hour visit to the United Arab Emirates will also include an open-air mass tomorrow for 135,000 of the Muslim country’s million Catholic residents, set to be the largest public gathering in the country’s history.

The pope was expected to raise the issue of Yemen, devastated by a war in which the UAE is a key player, in talks with Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed.

Yemen is the scene of what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, triggered by the intervention of Saudi Arabia, the UAE and their allies in a war between the government and Huthi rebels.

More than 10 million Yemenis now risk imminent starvation.

Sheikh Mohammed said today that UAE rulers were “delighted” to meet the pontiff “in our homeland of tolerance”.

“We discussed enhancing cooperation, consolidating dialogue, tolerance, human coexistence and important initiatives to achieve peace, stability and development for peoples and societies,” he tweeted.

Pope Francis, who made history when he touched down in Abu Dhabi yesterday night, said he came “as a brother, in order to write a page of dialogue together, and to travel paths of peace together”.

To mark the occasion, the pontiff offered the crown prince a framed medallion of the meeting between St Francis Assisi — the pope’s namesake — and the Sultan of Egypt Malek al-Kamel, in 1219.

Sheikh Mohammed, in turn, offered a deed for the plot of land on which the first church in the UAE was built.

The pope was set to meet with Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb — imam of Cairo’s Al-Azhar, Sunni Islam’s prestigious seat of learning — later today.

Sheikh Ahmed greeted the pope personally with an embrace yesterday night as the pontiff arrived in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

The emirate’s crown prince was also at the airport to greet the pontiff, who has made strengthening ties between Christianity and Islam a cornerstone of his papacy.

Hours before he flies back to Rome tomorrow, the pope will lead a mass at a stadium in the capital.

The UAE has dubbed 2019 its “year of tolerance”, but rights groups have criticised the country for its role in Yemen, where an estimated 10,000 people have been killed since the Saudi-led alliance including the UAE joined the government’s fight against the Huthis in 2015.

Rights groups, which have slammed the UAE over its intolerance of dissent, have also urged the pope to raise the issue of Ahmed Mansoor, an Emirati activist serving a 10-year prison term.

Before heading to the Gulf yesterday, Pope Francis urged warring parties in Yemen to respect a truce agreement and allow deliveries of food aid.

“The population is exhausted by the lengthy conflict and a great many children are suffering from hunger, but cannot access food depots,” he said.

“The cry of these children and their parents rises up to God.”

The UAE, which prides itself on its religious diversity in the Gulf, is a member of the US-led coalition battling the Islamic State group in both Syria and Iraq.

The UAE has eight Catholic churches. Oman, Kuwait and Yemen each have four.

Qatar and Bahrain have one each, while ultra-conservative Sunni powerhouse Saudi Arabia bans all non-Muslim places of worship.

Muslims make up nearly four fifths of the UAE’s population, but the country is also home to nearly a million Catholics, according to the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia.

Migrants from Asian countries make up about 65 per cent of the population. — AFP </s> Pope Francis has become the first pontiff to visit the Arabian Peninsula today where is expected to raise the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

He landed in Abu Dhabi just hours after issuing his strongest condemnation yet of the war in Yemen, where his host the United Arab Emirates has a leading military role.

A young boy and girl in traditional Emirati dress handed the pontiff flowers and the two leaders then walked past a guard of honour, all with traditional Arabic daggers at their waists.

Pope Francis and Sheikh Mohammed smiled and spoke to each other as they walked through the airport terminal.

The pope also met a host of cabinet ministers in a greeting line, as well as Catholic and Muslim officials.

Before he boarded his flight, the pope said in his regular Sunday address in Vatican City that he was following the urgent humanitarian crisis in Yemen with great concern.

He urged all sides to implement a fragile peace deal and help deliver aid of food and medicine to millions of starving people.

The UAE plays a leading role in the Saudi-led coalition battling the Iran-aligned Houthi group to restore the internationally recognised government in the nearly four-year war that has pushed Yemen to the brink of famine.

Pope Francis made the appeal at the Vatican before boarding a plane to the United Arab Emirates, which has been Saudi Arabia's main ally in its war in Yemen - a way to avoid embarrassing his hosts with a public call while in the region.

The United Nations is trying to implement a truce and troop withdrawal deal in the main Yemeni port of Hodeidah that was agreed in December talks as a trust-building step that could pave the way for political negotiations to end the conflict.

'The cry of these children and their parents rise up to God,' Pope Francis told tens of thousands of people in St. Peter's Square.

'Let us pray strongly because they are children who are hungry, who are thirsty, they don't have medicine and they are in danger of death,' he said before boarding his flight to the UAE capital Abu Dhabi.

Vatican officials have said it is not clear whether Pope Francis will address the sensitive subject in public or private during his visit to Abu Dhabi, which is aimed at promoting interfaith dialogue.

The pope will spend less than 48 hours in the UAE, where he will meet Muslim leaders and celebrate an outdoor mass for some 120,000 Catholics.

He has said the trip is an opportunity to write 'a new page in the history of relations between religions'.

The UAE, which named 2019 its Year of Tolerance, says the visit reflects its history as a 'cradle of diversity'.

But it faces criticism from human rights groups for jailing activists, including Ahmed Mansoor, an Emirati who is serving a 10-year sentence for criticising the government on social media.

'We are calling on Pope Francis to raise the issue of their incarceration with his hosts, and urge their immediate and unconditional release,' Amnesty International said in a statement on Saturday.

UAE authorities did not immediately reply to a request for comment.

Priests and diplomats describe the UAE as one of the most open environments in the Gulf for Christian worship. But like its neighbours, the UAE does not allow dissent or criticism of its leadership.

The UAE is home to around half of an estimated two million expatriate Catholics living in the peninsula, a territory which also hosts Islam's holiest sites in Saudi Arabia and is the birthplace of the religion.

The pope will meet Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahyan, who invited him.

The prince is an ally of Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who has reached out to Christian representatives abroad as part of attempts to open up the conservative kingdom.

All Gulf states except Saudi Arabia allow Christian worship in churches or church compounds and other premises with special licences.

In Saudi Arabia, non-Muslims pray in secret gatherings in private homes and embassies.

The pope will also meet Sheikh Ahmed al-Tayeb, the Grand Imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar mosque and university, the 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Muslim learning.

The meeting will be held in Abu Dhabi's Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque.

Francis has already visited half a dozen mainly Muslim nations during his reign, using the trips to call for inter-religious dialogue and to condemn the use of violence in the name of God.

The UAE ambassador to Washington, Yousef Al Otaiba, wrote in an op-ed in Politico magazine on Sunday that the pontiff's visit sends a signal of co-existence and respect in the face of the 'menace of extremism' across the Middle East.

The Emirates' support for Saudi Arabia's war in Yemen, which has caused the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and the UAE's problematic record on human rights and labour violations at home are likely to get a pass - at least in public.

Francis is travelling to Abu Dhabi to participate in a conference on inter-religious dialogue sponsored by the Emirates-based Muslim Council of Elders, an initiative that seeks to counter religious fanaticism by promoting a moderate brand of Islam.

It is the brainchild of Sheikh Ahmed el-Tayeb, the grand imam of Egypt's Al-Azhar, the revered 1,000-year-old seat of Sunni Islam learning that trains clerics and scholars from around the world.

It will be the fifth meeting between Francis and Sheikh el-Tayeb, evidence that Al-Azhar's freeze in relations with the Holy See sparked by Pope Benedict XVI's 2006 comments linking Islam to violence has thoroughly thawed.

In a video message to the Emirates on the eve of his trip, Francis paid homage to his 'friend and dear brother' el-Tayeb and praised his courage in calling the meeting to assert that 'God unites and doesn't divide.'

'I am pleased with this meeting offered by the Lord to write, on your dear land, a new page in the history of relations among religions and confirm that we are brothers despite our differences,' Francis said.

In a statement yesterday, Al-Azhar described the upcoming meeting as 'historic' and praised the 'deeply fraternal relationship' between its imam and the pope, which it said even includes birthday greetings. </s> Saudi Arabia's King Salman on Sunday slammed Iran's "blatant interference" in regional affairs and criticised the US over Jerusalem as Arab leaders met in the kingdom for an annual gathering.

Seventeen heads of state from across the Arab world gathered in the eastern Saudi city of Dhahran for the 29th Arab League summit, which this year comes as world powers face off over Syria and tensions rise between Riyadh and Tehran.

The meeting opened only 24 hours after a barrage of strikes launched by the United States, Britain and France hit targets they said were linked to chemical weapons development in Syria, which was suspended from the league seven years ago.

But King Salman avoided any mention of Syria in his address, as a seat marked "Syrian Arab Republic" sat empty in the hall.

Instead the king focused on rivalries with long-time foe Iran -- only 160 kilometres (100 miles) across the Gulf from Dhahran.

"We renew our strong condemnation of Iran's terrorist acts in the Arab region and reject its blatant interference in the affairs of Arab countries," the king said.

And despite being a stalwart ally of the United States, the ruler also criticised US President Donald Trump's controversial decision to recognise Jerusalem as Israel's capital and shift the US embassy there.

"We reiterate our rejection of the US decision on Jerusalem," Salman said. "East Jerusalem is an integral part of the Palestinian territories."

The king said he had named this year's meeting "the Jerusalem summit so that the entire world knows Palestine and its people remain at the heart of Arab concerns".

- Donation for East Jerusalem -

Arab ministers at a preliminary meeting in Riyadh on Thursday focused heavily on blocking the embassy move, unanimously condemning Trump's decision.

King Salman on Sunday announced a $150 million donation for the maintenance of Islamic heritage in East Jerusalem.

Earlier this month, the monarch reiterated the kingdom's "steadfast stance on the Palestinian issue and the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to an independent state with Jerusalem as its capital".

His comments came just days after his son, powerful Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 32, told reporters during a US tour that Israel also had a "right" to its own state.

The remark suggested increasing rapprochement with Israel, which like Riyadh, sees Tehran as its arch rival.

Saudi Arabia is pushing for a tough, unified stance against Iran at the annual gathering of the 22-member Arab League.

The two regional titans back opposing sides in a range of hotspots across the Middle East, including Lebanon and Syria and in Saudi Arabia's southern neighbour Yemen.

Iran is backing Shiite Huthi rebels that Riyadh opposes in Yemen and on Sunday Salman praised "the UN Security Council's statement denouncing the Iranian-made ballistic missile fire on Saudi cities."

Last month the Security Council issued a statement condemning Huthi missile attacks on Saudi, but did not name Iran.

In February, Russia vetoed a Security Council resolution that would have expressed concern over Iran's failure to block supplies of missiles to Yemen's Huthi rebels.

The summit also comes with Saudi Arabia and Qatar locked in a months-long diplomatic standoff, with Riyadh accusing Doha of supporting Islamist extremists and being too close to Iran.

Tensions have eased slightly in recent months but Qatar still only sent its representative to the Arab League to the Dhahran summit.

Among the leaders in attendance was Sudan's Omar al-Bashir, who walked the red carpet and was greeted by King Salman. Bashir is wanted by the International Criminal Court for five counts of crimes against humanity, three counts of genocide and two counts of war crimes.

Summits of the Arab League, established in 1945, rarely result in action. The last time the bloc made a concrete move was in 2011, when it suspended Syria's membership over the Assad regime's role in the war.

Syria's war, the most complex of the region's conflicts, is the main point of contention pitting Riyadh and its allies, who mainly back Sunni rebels, against regime backer Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.

Gulf Arab states have made massive donations to Syria but have not officially offered asylum to Syrians. </s> Reuters | Pope Francis visits the UAE on February 4, 2019, on his historic visit to the Arabian Penninsula.

Pope Francis received a pomp-filled welcome on Monday as he began his historic visit to the Arabian Peninsula by meeting with Emirati rulers in a Muslim region known for its restrictions on religious freedom.

Francis arrived at the Abu Dhabi presidential palace in a tiny Kia hatchback, but was greeted with an artillery salute and military flyover by a country now at war.

Even for a nation known for its excesses, the Emiratis' red-carpet welcome was remarkable for a pope who prides himself on simplicity. It featured horse-mounted guards escorting the pontiff's motorcade through the palace gardens while the flyover trailed the yellow and white smoke of the Holy See flag.

As cannons boomed and a military band played, Francis stood somberly between Abu Dhabi's powerful crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Emirati vice president and prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, during the presentation of delegations in the courtyard of the domed palace.

In a message to the prince, written in the palace book of honor, Francis thanked him for his hospitality and assured the people of the UAE of his prayers and "the divine blessings of peace and fraternal solidarity." Francis gave the crown prince a medal depicting his peace-loving namesake, St. Francis of Assisi, meeting the Egyptian sultan Malek el-Kamel 800 years ago.

Sheikh Mohammed, for his part, gave Francis a framed notarized decree from June 22, 1963, in which the then-ruler of Abu Dhabi donated the land for the construction of the first Catholic church in the Emirates.

"We discussed enhancing cooperation, consolidating dialogue, tolerance, human coexistence & important initiatives to achieve peace, stability and development for peoples and societies," Sheikh Mohammed tweeted.

Francis' speech to the gathering of faith leaders on Monday evening is to be the highlight of his brief, 40-hour visit to Abu Dhabi, the first to the Arabian Peninsula by a pope. His trip culminates on Tuesday with a huge papal Mass at the city's sports stadium expected to draw some 135,000 faithful in a never-before-seen display of public Christian worship here.

As Francis began his trip, human rights groups who are banned from the UAE urged him to use his visit to press for accountability by the Emirati leadership for atrocities in the war in Yemen and its repression of dissent at home.

"Despite its assertions about tolerance, the UAE government has demonstrated no real interest in improving its human rights record," Human Rights Watch said in a letter to Francis.

It was a reference to the UAE's often-stated claims of religious tolerance - it has a minister for tolerance, is hosting the interfaith meeting Francis is attending and has declared 2019 its "Year of Tolerance." That respect for non-Muslim forms of worship, however, runs up against the political reality of media censorship, repression of political dissent and limits placed on religious freedom.

Francis had actually made an urgent appeal for an end to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen just before he left the Vatican, calling Sunday for observation of a limited cease-fire so that food and medicine can get to its people, who are suffering the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

The UAE has been Saudi Arabia's main ally in the war in Yemen, where a Saudi-led coalition is fighting the country's Houthi rebels. Francis' pre-trip appeal was a way for him to avoid embarrassing his hosts with a public denunciation of the humanitarian costs of the war while in the region.

In another sign that regional politics was playing a not-insignificant role in Francis' visit, the papal plane flew north of Qatar and around the peninsular, energy-rich nation on his flight Sunday.

Four Arab nations - Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - have been boycotting Qatar since June 2017 as part of a regional political dispute. Tensions are still high between the nations, especially after Qatar's win at the Emirates-hosted Asian Cup soccer tournament this past week.

By avoiding Qatari airspace, Francis omitted sending a telegram of greetings to the country's ruler, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, as he would do when flying through the airspace of countries. He sent one when passing by the island nation of Bahrain.

Sheikh Tamim traveled Monday to Kuwait, which has been mediating the crisis. </s> Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is scheduled to travel to Egypt, a key partner in Saudi regional adventures whose president came to power after a coup.

 The office of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi announced in a statement on Saturday that the Saudi crown prince was due in Cairo on Sunday for a three-day visit.

 Bin Salman will then head to the United Kingdom on March 7 and to the United States on March 19. Saudi Arabia and Egypt have strengthened relations since 2013, when Sisi took power following the military overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically-elected president, Mohamed Morsi.—Agencies
Saudi Arabian Prince Mohammad bin Salman meets Pope Tawadros II at Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral.