The head of the Coptic Orthodox Church, His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St. Mark met with Pope Francis today in a historical meeting held in the Apostolic Palace today.

This is the first time in 40 years that a Coptic Pope has met with the Pope of Rome. On May 1973. Pope Shenouda III met with Pope Paul VI and signed an an important Christological Declaration in common and initiated bilateral ecumenical dialogue between the two Churches.

Palestinian Christians in the village of Beit Jala in the occupied West Bank have written an open letter to Pope Francis in protest at the Israeli decision to build a Wall separating Bethlehem from Jerusalem for the benefit of the illegal Jewish settlements. The Pope has been urged to ask Israel to stop the construction of the so-called Separation Wall in Bethlehem.

The representatives of Beit Jala, which is near Bethlehem said, “We are at risk of seeing most of our land seized by the Israeli occupation army, which has actually started the construction of the wall annexing all the Christian Palestinian land.”