Dear Speaker Pelosi,

We are writing to request your help in bringing House Resolution 49 to the House floor for a vote. The resolution is written to support religious freedom for the Coptic Orthodox Christians in Egypt, who continue to face terrorism, persecution, and discrimination. The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) released a video calling Copts their “favorite prey” and signaled they would increase attacks.

Violence against Coptic Christians, particularly in local villages, is rarely punished and this makes Copts more susceptible to attacks.

The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom notes that “there is approximately one mosque for every 820 Muslims and one church for every 2,430 Christians—roughly a 320 percent disparity.”

These are some of the reasons U.S. Rep. French Hill (R-AR) introduced House Resolution 49, Supporting Coptic Christians in Egypt. Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI), Rep. Louis J. Correa (D-CA), and Rep. Dan Lipinski (D-IL) signed onto the legislation as original co-sponsors. The resolution currently has 76 co-sponsors from both the Democratic and Republican parties.

Currently, the resolution is stalled in the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

A similar situation occurred with House Resolution 296, Affirming the United States Record on the Armenian Genocide, and we are grateful you chose to bring that legislation to the floor.

Thank you for supporting Middle Eastern Christians then. We are asking for your support again in bring- ing House Resolution 49 to a vote of the full House.

Sincerely yours in Our Lord,

Most Rev. Salvatore J. Cordileone
Archbishop of San Francisco        

Metropolitan Gerasimos 
Greek Orthodox Metropolis of San Francisco