Author and researcher of Coptic affairs Mamdouh al—Sheikh said the Coptic Orthodox Church won't last in a democratic climate. In his book "The Autumn of the Popes," al-Sheikh said the Coptic Orthodox Church won't last in a democratic climate and recent shifts are the beginning of the church's decline. Al-Sheikh said the book will provoke angry reactions from Christians, and the world is witnessing an evolution that will affect the church. He also said the foundation of popes is cracking, especially because the so-called "silent bleeding" of catholic principles. Al-Sheikh also said Christianity is witnessing a crisis considered the biggest since the Renaissance because of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church that is making people loose their trust in the church and in religious clergy in general. Other Christians lost their faith because of ideological debates in recent years that were painful for some Christians, like the controversy caused by the novels “The Da Vinci Code" and "Angels and Demons.” Al-Sheikh also mentioned that Egypt witnessed similar controversy over Zidane's novel "Azazel,” adding to the internal crisis within Christianity.
