I - Introduction
The Council of the Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient held its VIIth Congress at the Catholic Copts Patriarchal  seat in Alexendria (Egypt). Their Beatitudes were hosts of His Beatitude Estephan II Ghattas, Patriarch of the Predication of St Mark for the Catholic Copts, from 19 to 25 October, 1997.

Their Beatitudes who participated at this Convention:
 
     - Cardinal Mar Nasrallah Boutros Sfeir, Patriarch of Antioch and all the Orient for the Maronites,
     - Mar Ignace Antoine II Hayek, Patriarch of Antioch for the Catholic Syriacs,
     - Mar Raphaël I Bidawid, Patriarch of Babylon for the Chaldeans,
     - Youhanna Boutros XVIII Kasparian, Patriarch of Cilicie for the Catholic Armenians,
     - Michel Sabbah, Patriarch of Jerusalem for the Latins,
     - Maximos V Hakim, Patriarch of Antioch of Alexandria, Jerusalem and all the Orient for the Catholic Greek Melkites,
     was represented by His Excellency Mgr. Youhanna Haddad.
 
II - Opening of the Convention
The Convention was opened on the evening of Sunday 19 October 1997, at the church of St. Catherine and in the presence of the Apostolic Nuncio in Egypt, Mgr. Paulo Gilio and a certain number of members of the diplomatic corp (accredited in Egypt),  Catholic bishops, religious, nuns and faithfuls.
The ceremony began with prayer and liturgical hymns; then His Beatitude, the Patriarch Ignace II Ghattas pronounced a speech in which he welcomed their Beatitude the Patriarchs as well as the other guests and announced the subject of this Convention: "The Christian ethics", drawing the attention on dangers that threaten our contemporary civilization, in the East as well as in the West. His Beatitude insisted on what every Christian must hold to live according to the teaching of the gospel, concerning the morals.
The Apostolic Nuncio, in his address expressed the solidarity of all the Catholic church with members of the Convention in the research for means to strengthen the true spiritual values in today's world. The opening ceremony ended towards 20 hours by religious hymns and was followed by a reception in the church hall.
 
III - The meeting between the Catholics and the Orthodox
The first day of the Convention, October 20, 1997, took place in the lounge of the Catholic Patriarchate, a meeting between their Beatitudes, members of the Convention and His Holiness Anba Schnouda III, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the Predication of St Mark, for the Orthodox Copts. The conversation was focused on the studied topic "The Christian Ethics". His Holiness gave some briefing in this domain.
 
IV - Visit to His Excellency Mr Mohammad Hosni Moubarak, President of the Republic
The 3rd day, Tuesday 21 October 1997, His Excellency, President Mohammad Hosni Moubarak received the group of the Patriarche at the presidential Palace in Cairo. His Beatitude Estephan II Ghattas pronounced a speech in which he greeted the President and expressed his gratitude and his esteem for efforts in instituting peace and progress in the benefit of Egypt and the Arab countries. He made allusion to the subject of debate in the Convention of Patriarchs, that is, the morals and challenges that face  the Arab world today. Thereafter, His Excellency the President spoke of the peace process, under all its aspects and the efforts made by Egypt, in this domain. He concluded his speech by affirming the  Islamo-Christian fraternity, and he said that in Egypt, all are Egyptians.
 
V - The subject of the Convention
The Fathers studied with a great deal of attention and interest the moral behavior in the Oreint and its social implications; they reviewed the reality of our present society under its double  positive and negative aspect and the influence of the modern transformations in our Arab Orient. They noticed the difficulty of the topic of the religious and Christian morals, and the danger of the  new challenges issued on the scientific progress, of the evolution of communication means and of the technology in general. And they considered that the basic principles that will be able to guarantee the life of our sons in the oriental society,  is the fidelity to the law of God, as well as the confrontation of the new challenges, by the opening, the charity and the implimentation of all the fruits of the Spirit, that is "joy, peace, forbearance, sweetness, good character, fidelity, humility and chastity" (Gal. 5,22). Because, by charity we enter God's kingdom proclaimed by Jesus Christ, and we work for the expansion of this Kingdom, to strengthen it through our relations with others. For that, the Fathers Patriarchs, recommend to pastors of souls to give to the conscience of the faithfuls a healthy and straight formation, so that they will seek to behave in the light of the evangelical principles and the teachings of the church.
The Fathers discussed as well the report that has been presented to them about the biologic sciences, under the angle of the morals. They arrived to the conclusion that the church and the state have a common responsibility to face this delicate and dangerous topic, relatively to the present of the humanity and its future. They insisted on the necessity to include the teaching of the biological morals in the programs of the ecclesiastical institutes and cultural and academic institutions of  general and culture teaching, in order to allow the faithfuls to understand the modern scientific data and to know how to act correctly with them. They recommended to form some specialized committees to study the moral situation, the rights of man and the respect for life, in the light of the gospel. They implore the responsibles, in their respective countries, to decree laws ad hoc, that will be able to maintain these scientific researches in the right path of the morals, so that they don't result in harmful complications to man and that destroy the human civilization.
 
VI - The Process of Peace
The Catholic Patriarchs of the Orient, are worried for their peoples and participate with their sons to carry the responsibility
of the construction and the progress, they are interdependent with all religious and civilians leaders to take the defense of the
moral values, and they implore people of good will, wherever they are, to try to wake up to the human conscience  facing the contemporary challenges, and to protect the life, the family and the dignity of all human beings. They launched a call to
all their sons to have sincere faith, that they stick to the original Christian heritage, and that they devote themselves to build man and society.
 
a) The Lebanon
The Fathers are pleased of what Lebanon achieves to overcome slowly his mistake. The visit of the Sovereign Pontif the Pope Jean-Paul II, on the 10 and 11 May 1997, to Lebanon had the best effects on its sons. They endeavor to put in application the apostolic exhortation: "A New Hope for Lebanon"  that the Holy Father entrusted to them at the end of this visit; many difficulties remain to overcome to make good this application: No one ignores what happens everyday in the south of Lebanon, as events that kill people and make blood flow; no one also ignores that the national will is still alienated, human rights are violated, liberties chained, and the choking economic difficulties prevent the return to the country of those who left it at the time of events, and there also exists a great deal of hindrances that does not allow the displaced persons to regain their villages and to recover their possessions. However, in spite of all this, the Lebanese remain optimistic and hope in the future: The Fathers accompany them with their wishes and their prayers to God, that he deigns to achieve all their desires.

b) Palestine and Jerusalem
As for the situation in Palestine, it does not stop being difficult because of the constant violation of  the fundamental rights of  man and the restrictions imposed on the liberty of individuals and collectivities: the liberty of movement, to undertake the pilgrimage to the Holy Places for all believers, for Moslems as well as for Christians. The Fathers noticed that the Palestinian People lately have a feeling of great  frustration, following the halt of the peace process, what feeds in their hearts a feeling of hate and drives them to despair, with everything that this carries the explosion that would drive the entire region to a circle of violence and bloody reaction.
The emigration of the Christians constitutes, in these days and following the repeated blockades of cities and villages, a true danger, more than in any previous time. The Fathers launched a call to their sons and all citizens, that they have confidence in themselves, in divine justice and in prayer that will resuscitate hope in the souls and will give success to the process of peace.
At the very center of the problem of peace, is the problem of Jerusalem, God's city, the city of Salvation and Peace; its situation, is still until this day, an object of concern and fear. The arrangements taken unilaterally and the lack of recognition of equal rights to all inhabitants, are things that are often repeated provoke the concern and threaten to cause reactions that would erase completely the character of the Holy City. Also, the Fathers Patriarchs request that the unique character of Jerusalem be respected and that a proper solution be found to it, that will guarantee the rights of all its inhabitants, so that they are equal in rights and in duty, in a setting of sovereignty and liberty; and that, in all domains of life, so much private or public.

c) Iraq
The most difficult thing to which a man can be exposed, especially in adversity, is to be forgotten, not finding an eye, nor a hand, nor a heart close to him, except rarely, some good intentions, which, until the present time, were impotent to change the situation. It is the present situation of Iraq and its people in the course of the last seven years. This country suffers under the pressure of a blockade that doesn't seem, unfortunately, ready to be lifted in a near future, in spite of the harm that reaches its sons, children, old men and  especially the sick, and that threatens the future of the young that try to find an exit for themselves, out of their country, exposing themselves to different kinds of dangers and difficulties.
The Fathers Patriarchs implore all responsibles in the Arab and international family, to put an end to this state of dramatic fact, to this silence of mass-media and the inhuman treatment by which the people of Iraq was isolated; they ask that some serious measures be taken to achieve a free development of the process of peace and the reconstruction of Iraq, cradle of civilizations and country of origin of Abraham, the Father of Believers.

d) The other Arab countries     
The Fathers did not forget their sons and brothers in all Arab countries, of the Orient as of the Occident, especially countries who do not stop imploring that God inspires them all, to put end to what they support of dramas, of sufferings, of blood shed, and to work to set up stability, quiet and peace.
 
VII - Word of thanks
The Fathers Patriarchs congratulated themselves on the climate of stability in which the Egyptian people live, under the direction of President Mohamad Hosni Mouarak and of all those that, with him, watch on the interests of the Egyptian people; that allow the church to work there freely and to fulfill its duty. They also expressed to the Catholic Copt church their gratitude to have offered to them a cordial hospitality just as the works of its Patriarchal Synod Alexandrine II begin, trying to collaborate, with the other Catholic Churches and all other Churches in Egypt. They pray to the Lord for all arab countries and governments, so that he keeps for them what they have or what they wish, of stability and peace, and that he achieves for them more liberty and democracy.
 
VIII - Conclusion
At the approach of the 3rd millennium, end of the second millennium of the birth of Our Lord Jesus Christ, glory be to him, and of the big Mystery of the incarnation, the Fathers Patriarchs noted with satisfaction, all efforts that open our Churches, spread out to resuscitate the faith of their sons and to pursue their mission: In the Catholic Churches, many Synods are organized in different Arab Countries. Next year a Synod will be held in Rome for Asia with the participation of the universal church. Also the Council of Churches of the Middle East prepares a meeting, end January 1998, for all ecclesiastic Family chiefs. The Fathers welcomed with joy this process of renewal in which they will participate, they announced as well the meeting of a convention that will be held by them, on the occasion of the end of the second millennium, with the participation of all Catholic Bishops of the Arab Orient; this convention will take place in the middle of the year 1999 in order to resuscitate the faith and the hope, and to glimpse on the Christian arab future in the beginning the 3rd millennium.

At the Seat of the Catholic Copt Patriarchate
Alexandria, 25/10/1997