In his Wednesday sermon, Coptic Pope Shenouda III stated that Jehova's Witnesses "are not Christians," noting that it was permissable for a Copt to file for divorce if his or her spouse joined the sect. In his sermon, the pope also admonished priests that mistreat their servants. "I have heard that they even swear at them, which contravenes biblical teachings," he said. He went on, however, to call on servants to wait for priests to leave after mass before they themselves exit as a sign of respect. The pope also said people should be ashamed of themselves if they had sinned. "Shame is a precondition for confession," he said. The pope then advised a young woman in the congregation, who told him that her parents did not approve of her fiance because he was a diabetic, to consider looking for another would-be husband. The pope went on to encourage congration members to pray for the country's political leaders, because, if God accepted their prayers, he would make better leaders of them. In a related development, sources at the papal office said that the pope had told Coptic Church representatives in a Justice Ministry committee currently reviewing a new personal status draft law to object to a clause in the draft stipulating that Islamic Law be applied to Christians of different denominations. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
