Egyptian Christians are enjoying greater freedoms under President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, a spokesman for the country's Catholic Church, has said.
Speaking to AsiaNews, Father Rafic Greiche said the government is committed to speeding up the application process for the construction of new churches; something that has been made difficult for decades.
"A permit has already been granted for the construction of a church in New Cairo and two in Upper Egypt," he said.
"These applications date back to 8-10 years ago. Others go back 15 years ago and have not received any answer."
The current law in Egypt states that churches cannot be built near schools, villages, railways, residential areas, government offices and canals, among other stipulations. "Entire cities and villages in the countryside and in Upper Egypt don't have a single church," Safwat al-Bayadi, the head of the Evangelical Church in Egypt, told Al-Monitor last year.
Al-Sisi has pledged to change this, however, and church representatives were asked to draft a more inclusive bill.
"The project is almost ready. In the new constitution there is a paragraph that requires the new parliament - which will sit after elections in March - to pass the law within a year," Fr Greiche said.
"This means that by March 2016, we will have a law on new church construction without the current hassles."
Fr Greiche also said that the government wants to "value the Christian marriage and recognise it civilly". In the past, the spokesman has insisted that "life is much better than the year when the Muslim Brotherhood was in power...the country is becoming more confident and, in a sense, one can say that the 'Egypt' has found itself.
"Christians feel a lot safer. They are going to church without feeling threatened as they did under President Morsi...The problems that exist are only one tenth of those that we Christians experienced under Morsi."
Al-Sisi ousted former President Mohamed Morsi in June 2013, and has expressed a desire to end religious intolerance throughout Egypt; calling for a "religious revolution" to tackle extremism. As part of this commitment, he became the first of the country's leaders ever to attend a Coptic Christian Mass on Christmas Eve.
According to local news reports, Al-Sisi told the congregation: "It was necessary for me to come here to wish you a Merry Christmas, and I hope I haven't disturbed your prayers.
"Throughout the years, Egypt taught the world civilization and humanity, and the world expects a lot from Egypt during the current circumstances.
"It's important for the world to see this scene, which reflects true Egyptian unity, and to confirm that we're all Egyptians, first and foremost. We truly love each other without discrimination, because this is the Egyptian truth."
