Ambassador Scobey Visits Pope Shenouda

This may or may not be significant: US Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey has paid a visit to Coptic Pope Shenouda. Officially, this is her visit to provide greetings on the occasion of Coptic Christmas January 7, when Scobey was out of the country. As the linked Al-Masry al-Youm story notes:

According to a source at the papal office, Scobey and Shenouda also discussed the 7 January shooting incident in the Upper Egyptian city of Naga Hammadi, in which six Coptic Christians and one Muslim were killed.

Now a source at the papal office may be seeking to make a sectarian point: this wasn't apparently a characterization from the US Embassy. But it also is useful data: the US may be sending a subtle message here.