ETHIOPIA: Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat Celebrates Golden Jubilee
The Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat is the executing arm of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia. It has been serving the Church and the people dedicatedly for 50 years now. The secretariat marked its Golden Jubilee from March 27-28, 2017 during the annual Ethiopian Catholic Church Partners’ Coordination Meeting under the theme “50 Years of Witnessing the Gospel in Words and in Deeds.”
Speaking during the event H.Em. Cardinal Berhaneyesus, C.M., Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa, President of CBCE and AMECEA Chairman said the Catholic Church through the Secretariat and Diocesan Offices responds to the timely needs of the people reading the signs of the time through the light of Christ. “The fundamental mission of the Church is to serve the poor. The Church does not remain silent in ever changing world but responds through its different interventions of pastoral and social development in order to address the pressing needs of the time,” said His Eminence.
He lauded the Secretariat for having been actively involved in works of mercy and compassion in responding to the spiritual and humanitarian needs of the drought stricken, the poor and the vulnerable throughout its 50 years in existence. The Cardinal said that the Secretariat has been able to achieve all the success being celebrated at the Golden Jubilee through the effective collaborations made with the government and all partners and the community.
Cardinal Berhaneyesus, C.M., said “when we commemorate the Golden Jubilee of ECS Witnessing the Gospel in Words and in Deeds, it is the time to renew our commitment to the people we serve and to strengthen our partnership with all partners and stand with our government to ensure the sustainability of the development of our people and peace in the country.”
Rev. Fr. Hagos Hayish, C.M., paid tributeto all the founding fathers of ECS who had served as Secretary Generals and served at various levels in service of the poor and the vulnerable, the Diocesan offices, all the religious men and women, the clergy and all partners. He also noted that the annual Partners’ Coordination meeting will further strengthen the partnership between all pastoral and development agents in the Catholic Church and partners. “These coordination meetings have greatly contributed to the knowledge of who is doing what, best practices, mutual expectations and innovative initiative,” he said.
The Partners’ Coordination discussed different themes that are of current concern in Ethiopia and needs the attention of the Church. The themes are Peace and Development. Mass Migration in the context of East Africa, Pastoral and evangelization strategies and sustainability from the perspectives of the Clergy, the religious, the Laity and representatives of government offices.
Present at the event that took place at the Catholic Bishops’ Conference Center were Bishops, Apostolic Nuncio to Ethiopia, H.G. Archbishop Luigi Bianco, AMECEA Secretary General Fr. Ferdinand Lugonzo, Secretary General of Inter-religious Council of Ethiopia, Representatives of Caritas Internationalis and different Caritas Organizations, and other Partners from different parts of the world, clergy, religious men and women working in Ethiopia. Over 150 people participated in the event.
Messages of Solidarity were shared at the event by Caritas Internationalis, AMECEA, Conference of Major Religious Superiors, Caritas Germany and CRS.
By Makeda Yohannes
