Almasry Alyoum, 8/10/2010

Coptic Pope Shenouda III signaled his approval of a new personal status draft law for non-Muslims to a church committee tasked with discussing the proposed bill at a recent meeting at Justice Ministry headquarters.

“Our role has ended and that of the state legislative bodies has begun,” said committee member Monsef Suleiman.

The pope has also reportedly decided to hold a National Unity iftar banquet on the 21st day of the Islamic fasting month of Ramadan, which will begin on Wednesday.

According to a church source, the pope does not intend to invite any opposition figures to the event, including Mohamed ElBaradei, founder of the National Association for Change and would-be contender in next year's presidential elections.

The church, the same source said, would not allow the event to be "exploited simply to generate publicity."