A Blog by the Editor of The Middle East Journal

Putting Middle Eastern Events in Cultural and Historical Context

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Stop the Presses! Morsi is Apparently New Coptic Catholic Patriarch? Does MB Know?

If this Google search result proves to be true, the newly elected Catholic Pope Francis can start his pontificate with a real coup: the Muslim Brotherhood President of Egypt is apparently the new Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Egypt.  Did I miss something?

As I was groping for a hook to the new Pope on this blog, I noticed that even as Egypt's only Cardinal, Antonious Naguib, was in Rome preparing to enter the conclave, his successor as Coptic Catholic Patriarch was being installed yesterday. As I noted in my post last week on possible Middle Eastern Popes,  Cardinal Naguib had stepped down as Patriarch in January after sufering a stroke late last year. Despite his health issues, he is under 80 (at 77) and was eligible to vote for the new Pope, and therefore attended the Conclave,

By unforeseen coincidence, his successor, Ibrahim Isaac Sidrak, formerly Coptic Catholic Bishop of Minya, was installed yesterday in Egypt even as Cardinal Naguib was entering the conclave.

Despite the apparent Google post above, he is not, in fact, President Morsi. This is what he really looks like (left). More here.

Easy mistake, right? Egyptian. Glasses. Mustache. Beard. Must be the same guy.

At least they didn't upstage the new Pope by actually installing a Muslim Brother.


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