In Hatfield, Pennsylvania, a zoning issue was resolved, to allow for the planning of a
Coptic Orthodox Church to get underway. At a local board meeting, Father Antonius Salib spoke movingly about the struggles for freedom the Coptic Church has faced in Egypt and elsewhere. Over the past several years, Copts in Egypt itself have suffered many violent attacks by Muslim extremists, leading to many deaths and the destruction of property. However, in the diaspora, in the U.S. and other countries, Copts have had a chance to build new communities, and new parish churches are a sign of this continued growth.
(Note: Fr. Salib is not the 'head of the Coptic Orthodox Church,' Pope Shenouda III is; the author of the Montgomery News article probably meant that Fr. Salib is the head of
St. Mary and St. Kyrillos Church in Lansdale, Pennsylvania.)
