Pope Shenouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Saint Mark Episcopate, declined to set a date for his Alexandria visit and the return of his weekly sermons there after a hiatus of more than 12 weeks. He just said: "God willing, I will visit it very soon." In his weekly sermon at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbaseya yesterday, Shenouda advised the Copts to stay away from alcohol. "The Bible has many verses that prohibit the alcohol that causes drunkenness, as there is a difference between that kind of alcohol and ordinary alcohol. Yet ordinary alcohol can also harm those who drink it," he said. He also said that a priest should never disclose the secrets of the confessions, and that he must not have committed some greatly punishable offense. He pointed out that the concept of martyrdom in Christianity applies to those who died for the sake of God and the love of the people, and who were very religious when they were alive. The Pope called on those who want to get married to scrutinize their choices in terms of ethics, family roots and personality traits, noting not to measure the success of a marriage by the financial condition of its parties. The Pope also said: "We must treat others carefully, especially the sick and the elderly, and how parents treat children. We must seek to assist others with trust and wisdom, and we must be very careful when it comes to financial dealings with others."
The Pope warned of the Copts signing blank papers or checks, regardless of the degree of friendship or kinship with the other, so as not to fall in problems later. "This blankness will become blackness later," he said, calling for the need to take into account the time factor in dealing with others.
