The Clerical Council, in its first meeting after Coptic youths' assaults on the council chief Anbā Bula in what was labeled in the mass media as the Battle of the Dog, decided to grant approval for 500 remarriage cases whose papers have been inside the council for nearly 10 years.

The approval came following a meeting between Coptic Orthodox Pope Shenouda III, Bishop Armiyā, the secretary of the pope, Bishop Yu'annis and Bishop Mūsá. During the meeting, the pope asked the clergymen to show a stance to placate the protesters.

Some 40,000 cases others are awaiting the council's opinions about remarriage permits by either having the 1938 statute activated or having the license to obtain civil marriage.