ETHIOPIA: On the 53rd Regular Conference of Catholic Bishops in Ethiopia, National Synodal Process Coordinator Presents a Synthesis.
Bezawit Assefa
On the second day of the Ethiopian Catholic Bishops Conference which started on July 20, 2022, a synthesis of the Synod consultation was presented to Bishops, Diocesan representatives, Representatives of various associations as well as officials of the General Office.
The draft synthesis quoted and reflected a saying from Pope Francis that “Synodality starts with hearing from the whole People of God. A Church that teaches must firstly be a Church that listens. Consulting all members of the Church is vital because, as the Second Vatican Council reminded us, the faithful as a whole are anointed by the Holy Spirit.”
Rev. Father Gabriel W/Hana OFM Cap, on behalf of the Synod Central Committee, explained the Church’s participation in the Synod activities. The activity has been going on for the past eight months since October 2021 and the Conference started off by appointing the Synod office and the Coordinator at the general office to reach the national level of the synod activity.
Rev. Father Gabriel stated that since the establishment of the committee, senior religious scholars for the bishops, priests, representatives of the Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions and the lay people representing the Synod organized consultation forums, awareness raising events, discussions, and capacity building trainings have been conducted.
Based on the ten-page reports collected from the different Ecclesiastical Jurisdictions, a compiled draft document was presented by the chairman of the national committee of the Synod, Rev. Father Gebremeskel Shikur IMC. The presented document which is the first draft and the essence of Synod in the Ethiopian Catholic Church contains challenges and future directions in the Church.
The document is structured into sixteen different sections, each of which addresses the challenges; questions and ideas for implementing the associated opportunities are explored which included liturgy, vocation, religious life, youth, catechists, listening and speaking, and church doctrine.
Rev. Father Gebremeskel discussed the idea of Pope Francis that synodality is always with the church leaders and under the church leaders “Communion with the Pope and under the Pope” Sub Pietro cum Pietro; for example, we have to work seriously with the parish priest under the parish priest as well as family by family.”
“As the Church, we will use this text as a basis for future direction, it is stated that the compiled text will be used to solve the challenges in the Ethiopian Catholic Church and to spread the Gospel in addition to being sent to Rome. Suggestions for additions and corrections to the submitted text were made by the participants,” he continued.
Sister Lugina Gebrewold FMOC, a national member of the Synod, said, “Synod strengthens our Catholic identity; this Synod is a great opportunity for the growth of the Church,” adding that it is the responsibility of all Catholics to put everything we have expressed into practice.
It was stated that the synod was a discussion where the voices of many were heard and what we can do better for evangelism in the future by listening to the voice of God. The ideas raised should lead us to the path of our common mission and all the planned works together; They emphasized that it should be through participation and a common mission.
At the end of the program, young people from different parishes presented a new hymn containing the thoughts of the Synod to the Holy Bishops and the participants present on the day. The content of the hymn reflects the Synod’s idea of unity, participation in a common mission, and the call to ministry under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. In addition, a young man has also presented a poem addressing Synod in four different languages.
