Matt Thistlethwaite (Kingsford Smith, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I was honoured to attend the official reception last night for His Holiness Pope Tawadros II, the Patriarch of the Coptic Church internationally, which was held to welcome him on his first visit to Australia since he took office in 2012. I was fortunate to join a thousand members of Sydney's Coptic community to welcome the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark.

Australia is home to the third-largest Coptic community outside Egypt, with the first Coptic migrants to Australia arriving in 1969. According to the Church, there are more than 100,000 Copts in Australia, with 70,000 of those living in Sydney. Many of those have chosen to live in the community that I represent, Kingsford Smith, which has a strong and vibrant Coptic community centred around St George Coptic Orthodox Church in Kensington, which was established in 1973. The local church maintains strong ties to the community, providing spiritual guidance to many followers, including many wonderful young people.

In recent times, of course, the Coptic community has been the victim of horrendous acts of terrorism, including the bombing of St Mark's Cathedral last year, which killed 13 people. The Pope's visit will serve to strengthen the faith of Australia's Coptic Church followers. I welcome Pope Tawadros II and wish him the very best for his visit to Australia.