A congressional hearing held by the US Commission on International Religious Freedom to discuss the New Year’s Eve Alexandria church bombing was rejected by Archbishop Salib Matta Sawiris, a member of the Confessional Council.

Sawiris said that the Coptic Orthodox Church rejects foreign intervention in internal Egyptian affairs, adding that the attack has received the attention of parliament and President Hosni Mubarak.

In a statement to Al-Masry Al-Youm, Sawiris said that calls for foreign intervention tend to harm Copts by giving the impression that they draw on the power of other countries. This tends to reflect on Copts generally, he added.

Coptic Pope Shenouda III opposes any form of foreign intervention in church affairs, he said, pointing out that all problems related to Copts are debated in Egypt and receive the attention of both Muslims and Copts.

The head of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and Dina Guirguis, a Coptic activist and researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, had called for the congressional session which was held on Thursday. The attack in Alexandria church left 23 dead and scores injured.

Translated from the Arabic Edition.