Catholic Bishops in Ethiopia Call for “unified voice”

“The Church, as a mother, always longs and grieves for her children to enter into peace,” the Bishops are quoted as saying in their post plenary assembly exhortation. They encourage the people of God in the country to continue praying, fasting, and working earnestly for peace. Earlier in the year in March, Bishop Tesfasellassie Medhin of the Catholic Eparch of Adigrat which covers the Tigray region in Ethiopia’s northernmost territory warned of “a very bloody confrontation” that could involve Ethiopia and neighboring Eritrea.

He confirmed at the time that tensions continued to escalate  in the region following an internal split within the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), which led a rebel faction of the group to seize control of Adigrat town, near the Eritrean border, on March 11. “Instability in our region continues to persist, tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea are increasing, and the country could be engulfed in a very bloody confrontation,” he said. During their latest CBCE assembly, the Bishops also focused on other issues “related to the Church’s mission, structure, institutions, evangelization, national and global matters.”

They committed to strengthen the mission of the apostolic mission of the Catholic Church in Ethiopia through renewed efforts under a General Secretariat. “Plans are underway to appoint qualified priests soon, and there is an emphasis on working in a synodal spirit (journeying together) with the faithful to strengthen evangelization,” the CBCE members say of the Catholic Church in the country where the Latin rite is observed in nine ecclesiastical jurisdictions and the Eastern rite in four.

Meanwhile the Catholic Church leaders welcomed the newly Ordained Auxiliary Bishop of the Catholic Archdiocese of Addis Ababa, Bishop Tesfaye Tadesse Gebresilasie and Bishop Merhakristos Gobezayehu Getachew Yilma of the Vicariate Apostolic of Awasa.

The late Pope Francis appointed Bishop Gebresilasie, a member of the Religious Institute of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) in November 2024, to assist Berhaneyesus Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel , the Archbishop of the Addis Ababa Metropolitan See. Bishop Yilma has been at the helm of Awasa Apostolic Vicariate since his Episcopal Consecration in February 2024.

The CBCE Spokesperson Bishop Lisane-Christos Matheos Semahun, who is the Local Ordinary of the Catholic Diocese of Bahirdar-Dessie, is quoted in the July 13 communiqué as having acknowledged that the new appointments are going “to enhance shared Church responsibilities, contribute new ideas for addressing challenges, and strengthen many services.”

They also welcomed the new Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia, Archbishop Brian Ngozi Udaigwe, and recognized his presence for the first time at a CBCE Plenary Assembly. “Archbishop Brian expressed his happiness in coming to Ethiopia and showed his willingness to collaborate in the mission of the Church,” the CBCE members say in reference to the Vatican Diplomat who “delivered Pope Leo XIV’s message of fraternal communion to the Bishops.”

The late Pope Francis transferred Cameroonian-born Archbishop Udaigwe from Sri Lanka to Ethiopia on April 12. The Nigerian national previously served as the representative of the Holy Father in Benin and Togo. The Addis Ababa-based Apostolic Nunciature had been vacant since May 2024, when the Holy Father reassigned Archbishop Antoine Camilleri to Cuba.

Nicholas Waigwa – ACI Africa