Sheraton-Heliopolis is the name of one of the newer suburbs of Cairo that did not even exist a few decades ago. Named after the original Sheraton hotel, close to the international airport, which was at first the only existing building there at the time, it is now a busy suburb of over 400,000 people.
The Catholic Church has established a pastoral centre here, named the „Diakonia Development Center“, to serve the various pastoral and social needs of the Catholic parish community. It is here that the children and young people of the „Good Samaritan“ group also meet.
The plan is to establish a small library in the centre for the 150 or so children and young people who regularly come here, above all in order to help them become more familiar with the Holy Scriptures. For it is especially important for them, as a religious minority, to have a sound knowledge of the Bible, since they are often asked questions and need to be able to give clear and coherent answers to them. Sometimes the questions are put to them in a deliberately provocative or manipulative way, and so it is very important for these Christian children to deepen and extend their knowledge of the Scriptures from an early age and especially to have a good understanding of those passages in the Bible that are often used or abused by non-Christians to attack their faith.
But at the same time it is very important for these young people and for their own personal development to be able to understand how God leads them and guides them by his providence. In this way they come to know Jesus Christ better and believe more deeply in his love. For as Saint Jerome wrote, „Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ“.
