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.
