CAIRO: According to sources inside the Coptic church, Pope Shenouda was involved in an accident Monday night that left him unable to move until the next day. Sources told Daily News Egypt that at 10 pm on Monday, the Pope tripped on the edge of the rug in his bedroom at the Cathedral. He fell to the floor but was unable to reach a telephone for help. His repeated calls were also unheard, which left him lying on the floor until the next day. At around 6 am, when his assistants entered his room and found him lying on the floor, they arranged to have him moved to Al-Salam Hospital in Mohandiseen immediately, where he was thoroughly examined. Doctors said that his hip bone was fractured. By 10 pm Tuesday, he was flown by a private plane to Ohio's Cleveland Clinic in the US for emergency treatment. Pope Shenouda has been making frequent visits to the US clinic for regular check-ups, the latest of which was three weeks ago. Pope Shenouda III has served as Pope of Alexandria since November 14, 1971, presiding over a worldwide expansion of the Coptic Orthodox Church. During his papacy, he has appointed the first-ever Bishops to preside over North American dioceses that now contain over one hundred churches, as well as the first Bishops in Australia and the first Coptic Churches in South America.
