Omar el-Sherif, assistant minister of justice and head of the committee assigned with preparing the Unified Personal Status Law for non-Muslims, has prevented committee members from giving statements to the press. El-Sherif justified this decision saying that statements to the press about the committee's work "are the responsibility of the Minister of Justice alone," according Father Youhanna Qelta, a representative of the Catholic Church on the committee. Malak Mina, the committee's Orthodox Church representative, confirmed the decision, adding that it was intended to speed up the committee's work pace and ensure no contradictory statements are made to the media. Meanwhile, the Evangelical church held an emergency meeting to discuss the current crisis regarding the remarriage of Christian divorcees. Safwat el-Bayadi, president of the Evangelical organization, said the purpose of the meeting is to discuss member proposals for the new law. "We haven't reached a decision yet," he said. Among the most important points currently discussed, added el-Bayadi, are modern techniques for proving incidents of adultery as well as articles ensuring that different churches respect each other's marriage rituals. "If this important point is ignored, we will not have a unified law for Christians," he continued. El-Bayadi added that the bill currently being discussed should be the same as the one churches had previously agreed to, without any changes. Translated from the Arabic Edition.
