ETHIOPIA: Worrisome Development About Tigray Conflict Saddens Bishops Conference
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
Catholic bishops in Ethiopia have, during their ordinary assembly, expressed concern about the ongoing conflict in the country’s Tigray region a situation they term to be “worrisome” and saddening the heart when people are in dare need of peace.
“While we were holding our Assembly, our thoughts and prayers were influenced by the worrisome information we are receiving about the war. It saddens our hearts hearing about war while we all would like to hear about peace and reconciliation,” Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia (CBCE) said in a collective statement shared with AMECEA online Thursday, July 21.
“The horror of war is neither a remedy for wrongs nor a solution to a crisis. War brings untold suffering and the price that innocent people pay is incalculable,” the prelates cautioned reminding all the involved parties “that war only destroys lives and properties and nothing more and that the choice to be made should be of peace and reconciliation.”
The bishops have expressed their solidarity with the people who are suffering saying, “As Pastors, we cannot but feel the anguish and pain that the people are going through. We identify with them and their anguish is our anguish.”
They appreciate the many people who have been working tirelessly to alleviate the suffering of the population, asking for continued support so that “no one is forgotten or left out,” and urging all authorities on the ground to allow unfettered access to humanitarian aid.
Highlighting that it is never too late to stop the violence, the bishops acknowledged that the only way forward, for the good of the people, is peace and reconciliation,” which helps “to satisfy the demands of truth and justice, to ask for and grant forgiveness, to do what is necessary to restore mutual trust, to recognize others as our brothers and sisters, no matter who they are and how deep our disagreements are, and to settle any differences through dialogue and negotiation.”
According to the prelates, it is through peace and reconciliation that “we can heal together as a country, as a society, and as a Church. There are no “winners” and “losers”, no “them” and “us”; we are all brothers and sisters.”
“Living in peace and social harmony may seem like a dream but it is attainable if we stretch out our hands to God, the Father of all, in prayer and allow Him to mold our hearts and minds to think thoughts of peace and fraternity and act accordingly,” they add.
The assembly that was held from 13-16 July, at the Consolata Fathers Spirituality Centre, Modjo, brought together bishops from all dioceses except Bishop Tesfassilasie Medhin of Ethiopia’s Eparchy of Adigrate, which is within the war zone of Tigray.
According to the Church leaders, they offered special prayers for Bishop Medhin who has not joined the assembly “for the last one year due to the war in Tigray and (is) suffering continuously together with his people.”
They also prayed for the clergy, religious men and women and all Catholic faithful who have been passing through the war and the attached humanitarian crisis.
The Ethiopian prelates further asked for the intervention of “Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace, to bring lasting peace to the country, highlighting that, “We all want to see a country where all Ethiopians embrace each other as brothers and sisters.”
On May 12, 2021, the Chairman of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) region Bishop Charles Sampa Kasonde appealed for assistance from people of good will to support the suffering communities who have faced with a lot of challenges in the past months.
“The people in the affected communities need food, medication, shelter, water and other health and sanitary items in such a volatile environment,” Bishop Kasonde shared asking for support to alleviate people’s suffering.
