Newsletter

IN THIS ISSUE

ETHIOPIAN CATHOLIC SECRETARIAT

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

The Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (ECS)Newsletteris published quarterly by the ECS Social Communications Department

� P.O. Box 2454 Addis Ababa, Ethiopia �+251 1 55 03 00 �+251 1 55 31 13 �ecs@ethionet.et

Bishops Lobby Tour 2005By: Philipp Rohrer, CIDSE

Bishops Lobby Tour (1)

Archbishop Berhaneyesus (2nd from right, at back row above) among his fellow churchleaders from North and South in front of Downing Street 10, the house of the British PrimeMinister Tony Blair (Photo:Credit Caroline Irby, CAFOD).

NEWS BRIEFS... (3-6)

- ECC Website - SIGNIS Africa Assembly 2005

- Ethiopialives.net

(Please turn to page 7)

Post-Election Message (16)

At the end of May 2005, CIDSE – an alliance of 15 catholic development organizationsfrom Europe and North America – has invited Cardinals and Bishops from Southerncountries for lobby meetings with European governments. This tour took place only afew weeks ahead of the G8 summit iIn Scotland, where the heads of state of the eightworld’s richest countries will meet. In Berlin, London and Paris the church leaders methigh ranking government representatives, in Brussels they met the president of theEuropean commission.

Photo above shows His Grace, Archbishop Berhaneyesus D Souraphiel, CM meetingthe President of the EU Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso. (Photo: Credit CIDSE)

UP-COMING

EVENTS

Workshop for Teachers andHeadmasters in Nekemte Diocese

(Nekemte, 12-16 July 2005)

- A Visit to the HIV/AIDS

Anyone who is not with usis againist us (7)

Special Feature:

- ECC Coordination Meeting 2005 (8)

New staff at ECS (14)CIDSE Press Release (15)

- ECC-SADCO General Assembly (12)

Donors/Partners MeetingAddis Ababa,

(14 September 2005)

ECS Annual Retreatat Galilee Centre

(16-17 September 2005)

ECS Staff Annual Outing(August 2005)

Programs in Uganda

Bishops XIth Ordinary Assembly in Adigrat (2)

- A send-Off Get-Together

2

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Bishops’ XIth Ordinary

The XIth Ordinary Assembly of the CatholicBishops of Ethiopia took place in Adigrat from

The Bishops delegation left Addis Ababa Airportin the morning of Saturday, 18 June for Adigratvia Mekelle on Flight ET 100. They were met on

Assembly in Adigratby

Leticia PadolinaCoordination Office, ECS

20-22 June 2005.

Adigrat Catholic Cathedral

arrival at Mekelle Airport VIP Lounge by H.E.Abune Tesfaselassie Medhin, Eparch of Adigrat

XIth Ordinary Assembly inAdigrat.

A grand welcome awaitedthe delegation that wasmotorcaded from the airportto Mekelle City where visitswere arranged. Catholicfaithful lined the streetsclapping their hands as thedelegation approached thefirst stop – The MekelleCatholic Parish Church.The next stop was at thehome of the Daughters ofCharity (DOC) where theBishops were briefed abouttheir activities before

who hosted the Bishops

proceeding to the Lazarists’House. The Bishops alsovisited the Mother TheresaHome in Mekelle.

Colourful leis were presented to the arrivingguests as they stepped down their cars andescorted to the Cathedral where a shortprogramme was given and words of gratitude

breakfast with the Faithful was served at the MinorSeminary Compound.

In the afternoon, a programme was shown at thenew Tsinseta-Mariam (Immaculate ConceptionHigh School) Auditorium. The scheduled 2-hourdrama, songs and circus show turned out to belonger . The drama, the songs and thebreathtaking circus performers captured theinterest of the guests and all those present in theSchool Auditorium. The guests enjoyed thestudents performances on stage. The day endedin a very festive mood.

Lunch was served at the Mekelle Parish Hall.Immediately after lunch, the group continued withthe next leg of the journey. The drive from Mekelletook them to the St Mary’s Catholic Church atWukro where they made a brief stop over to visitthe Church for prayer and to give their blessingto the faithful before proceeding to Adigrat.

expressed, in appreciation for all thearrangements prepared for the Bishops’arrival.

At 1530 hrs, the delegation reached Adigrat wherea throng of well-wishers greeted them right at thecurve that leads to the road entering the AdigratCathedral compound.

The following day - Pentecost Sunday – Masswas celebrated at the Cathedral . After Mass,

3

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

During the week, VISITS were made to theAdigratCatholic Secretariat (ADCS) wherethe Bishops were familiarized with theactivities of the Secretariat and a guided tourof the different departments was arrangedand provided by Ato Teweolde H/Selassie,ADCS Assistant Secretary General.

The next stop was at Sebeya Parish where theBishops were warmly welcomed by the SebeyaFaithful.

(Photoabove) Abune Abraham addressing the Sebeya faithful

... the newly inaugurated Church of Mary Help of Christians, ADWA (Built by the Salesians of Don Bosco)

(Photo above): Sebeya Parish.. a partial view of the Catholic faithful

From Sebeye, the Bishops proceeded toAlitena and returned to Adigrat viaZalanbessa where they also made a briefvisit to the Filippini Sisters there. The followingday, they proceeded to Adwa where the

new Church of the MaryHel p of Christians, builtby the Salesians of DonBosco.was inaugurated.

A visit to the historical sitesin Axum was also arrangedby the Salesians of DonBosco.

After a week-long absencefrom their respectiveVicar ia tes /Eparch ies /Prefectures, they finallytook off from Axum Airport,on board an EthiopianAirlines flight back to AddisAbaba.

4

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

The Ethiopian Catholic Church website

NEWS BRIEFS...

The Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (RCS) is happy toannounce that the Ethiopian Catholic Church (ECC) websitecan now be accessed at http://www.ecs.org.et

international partners and concerned individuals could makecontact and be informed about the activities of the Church.

ByDr Tesfaye Gizaw

Database Manager and PR Officer, ECS

Official inauguration of the website is expected to take placeby August 2005.

The Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat desires that this website be used as a forum where our Dioceses, national and

SIGNIS Africa Assembly 2005

A Send-Off Get-TogetjherOn Thursday, the 9th of June, the Ethiopian CatholicSecretariat (ECS) and the Catholic Relief Services (CRS)jointly organized a send-off party for the outgoing CRSCountry Representative, Ms Ann Bousquet.

H.E. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Dobbelaar, Msgr. Wijesinghe, AbbaKidanemariam Ghebray, Bro. Vincent, Sr. Laetitia, Sr.Graca, Mr Donovan and many others took turns to expresstheir appreciation and sincere thanks to Ann.

for 5 years with CRS.

Friends, colleagues and well-wishers from the religious and

many others graced the festive occasion.

In response, Ann thanked everyone for coming to join thegathering to bid her ‘goodbye’. She also thanked all thosewho unselfishly provided unwavering support andcooperation during her term as CRS Ethiopia CountryRepresentative.

The National representatives of SIGNIS Africa met for theirGeneral Assembly in Kampala from 29 May to 4 June 2005.Various topics were discussed during the Assembly. Eachecclesiastical region presented the respectivecommunications activities and strategies. Similarly a

(Please see next page)

Ann

cutti

ng th

e ce

rem

onia

l cak

e

the international organizations led by H.E.Rt. Rev.Msgr.Leonardus Dobbelaar, CM, Vicar Apostolic of Nekemte,Rev. Abba Tsegaye Keneni, ECS Secretary General,Msgr. Robinson Wijesinghe, Counsellor, Vatican Embassy,Addis Ababa, Bro. Vincent Pelletier, CNEWA Regional Di-rector, Bro Cesare Bullo of the Salesians of Don Bosco, MrDavid Donovan, CRS Deputy Country Representative and

Rev. Abba Tsegaye said some parting words ofgratitude for Ann’s untiring support, in particular, to theSocial Development activities of ECS and in general,to the Ethiopian Catholic Church. He presented gifts toAnn signifying the never-ending appreciation of hervaluable contribution to ECS.

Words of appreciation have been expressed, by friends andwell-wishers who were present, in grateful recognition ofthe distinguished and exemplary support and contributionprovided by CRS to the religious and developmentactivities of the Ethiopian Catholic Church during Ms AnnBousquet’s seven-year term as Deputy CountryRepresentative for 2 years and as Country Representative

H. E. Rt Rev. Msgr Leonardus Dobbelaar, CM, VicarApostolic of Nekemte offeredthe opening prayer.

It is also believed that people from every corner could nowget better opportunity to easily discuss the growth of theChurch. They can share their opinions and contribute a lotto the accomplishment of the goals and objectives of theCatholic Church in Ethiopia.

ECS therefore, encourages and invites all concerned partiesto make use of this valuable resource and participate in givingfeedback so that whatever suggestions received could beused to improve the service that the site offers.

5

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Ethiopialives.net

(Church window. Photograph by Sr Medhin Abraha).

(Contributed by Jannie Oosthuizen

CAFOD/TROCAIRE, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia)

Nineteen Ethiopians are turning theircameras onto their own lives to present avery personal view of life in Ethiopia, as acontrast to the images which are selectedby professional photographers visitingEthiopia from other countries. Thephotographs are stunningly beautiful, and arealready creating a great deal of interest inEurope.

South of Ethiopia, and from around Mekelle in the Tigray region. Their ages range from 15 to mid-fifties. The only thing that links them is that none have been involved in a project like this, or willnormally have had the opportunity to present their own view of Ethiopia to an international audience.

The project is co-ordinated by CAFOD & Trócaire, the Catholic development agencies for England,Ireland and Wales. The photographers were discovered through diverse Ethiopian NGO’s: the MedicalMissionaries of Mary, the Daughters of Charity in Tigray, and the Adigrat Diocese Catholic Secretariat(all of whom are part of the Ethiopian Catholic Church), as well as the Ethiopian Gemini Trust andAction For Development. These NGOs are providing ongoing logistical support to the photographersduring the project period. Because some participants had not previously had the opportunity to usedigital cameras, photographic training was provided in Ethiopia in May 2005 by the professional

photographer Annie Bungeroth.

representative from SIGNIS Asia presented a briefing abouttheir activities in that region.

moved to the SIGNIS International group in November 2001.The assembly agreed that Madagascar be represented bya delegate as an observer both at World and SIGNIS Africalevel to nsure that the question is addressed and resolved.

Explanations were given from CAMECO representativeregarding the differences between “a project” and “anapplication” and also CAMECO’s criteria for projectevaluation and guidelines for presenting Projects. In thesame way, the SIGNIS World representative presented abriefing on Strategic Planning and Project Management,and SIGNIS criteria and guidelines.

The assembly also discussed the question of the IndianOcean Islands as part of Africa ecclesiastically but were

Other topics discussed during the assembly were thepresentation of SIGNIS Services Rome and presentation ofAMECEA radios and media centers.Finally the assembly elected new SIGNIS Africa delegatescomposed of a President, Vice-president, Secretary/Treasurer, three delegates (one observer and two alternates).

SIGNIS ... (Continued from page 4)

Over a period of six months, thephotographers will capture their own day-to-day lives and upload photos to theirwebsite www.EthiopiaLives.net. Peoplefrom all over the world are invited to emailin feedback and support to the participants.The website will be launched in Europe on3rd July 2005, and the photographers hopethat the project will support the internationalcampaign to Make Poverty History.

The participants come from many parts ofthe country, and from very different walks oflife. They are from the capital city AddisAbaba, from the Borana region in the far

At the same time two delegates were elected to representSIGNIS Africa on the SIGNIS World board.

.

6

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

A Visit to the HIV/AIDS

Programs in Uganda

A team composed of the ECS, PastoralDepartment Head, the ECS-HIV/AIDS ProgramCoordinator and the President of the PriestAssociation of Our Lady, visited the HIV/AIDSprograms in Uganda. The aim of the exposure visitwas to learn from the experiences of Uganda, thepioneer in HIV/AIDS prevention and control in theworld.

The team visited St. Kizito Secondary School andYouth Alive. St. Kizito Secondary School is one ofthe Catholic Schools found in Kampala and it isowned by Comboni Fathers of Mbuya Parish. Thebeneficiaries of the school include: Orphan of AIDSscourge, immigrants of war thorn northernUganda, children of majority poor of Mbuya Parish,and children of the low wage earners of the civil

in the foundation of Youth Alive. Youth Alivestarted as a peer support group. As more and

service-most of whom pay fees in fractions.Despite this fact the school has given strongemphasis on the morality of the students in relationto prevention and control of HIV/AIDS.

St. Kizito Secondary School HIV/AIDS preventionand control program focuses on changing thebehavior of the students and as well as teachers.Education For Life, a behavioral changeintervention, is one of the major activities beingimplemented in the school. In addition to thisstrong tool for behavioral change, the school hasguidance and counseling service. The service isstrategically formed in such a way that aprofessional counselor leads the program;however key players in providing the counselingservices are students who are trained in peercounseling.

Youth Alive is a registered Catholic non-governmental organization for and by the youth.Youth Alive was started by a group of youth underthe guidance of Sr. Dr. Miriam Duggan inKamwocya- a Kampala suburb, which wasseverely affected by diversity of social and healthproblems; chief among them HIV/AIDS. This teamrealized that the most infected and affected werethe youth. As such a youth friendly HIV/AIDSprevention strategy was designed which resulted

similarly, is the key tool used to change thebehavior of the youth. However they work in awide range of activities related to behavioralchange.

more groups were established, the first onebecame the secretariat with an established officeon the 1st of July 1993 and in fulfillment of thelegal requirements, Youth Alive was registeredas an NGO in 1995.

Youth Alive is a pioneer organization in Ugandaworking on Behavioral Change Interventionthrough promotion of abstinence before marriageand being faithful in marriage. Education For Life,

The visiting team, having the opportunity to visitschool and out-of-school HIV/AIDS program onyouth, learned and observed the following majorissues:

ByAto Ephrem W/MeskelHIV/AIDS Coordinator

Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (ECS)

� Commitment of St. Kizito SecondarySchool administration to respond to HIV/AIDS pandemic.

� Guidance and Counseling service includingpeer-counseling service was found to veryimportant.

� Full participation of students/youth in theprograms behavioral change interventions.The ownership of the program by thestudents is also an important observation.

� Local Initiatives are stronger and leads tosuccess if the beginning the program is aresponse to a problem. Youth Alive is agood example in this regard.

� Behavioral change is possible. Howeverthere should be appropriate program andone should be patient. Because changesin behavior can’t happen over night, it maytake a very long time. Despite these facts,the final outcome of the program will berewarding, promising, and sustainable.

� Openness and Spirituality: The teamobserved openness, which contributed alot for information dissemination, andreduction of stigma and discrimination. Ontop of this spirituality is also found to bevery helpful. In St. Kizito Secondary Schoolspiritual associations, which are formed bythe students, contributed a lot to moralityof the students as the school directresscommented. Spirituality is the base formorality and behavioral change is easierto attain where there is morality.

7

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Bishops Lobby .... (Continued from page 1) accompanied by Cardinals and Bishops from the visited countries.Together, they released a declaration entitled “Act today for ourcommon good”, where they demand trade justice, debt cancellationand more and better development aid.

After meeting President Barroso, Archbishop Souraphiel said:“Barroso stated we have the resources to take action but theimportant thing is to get the political will and organisation – notonly here but also in the so called third world countries that therewill be good governance, transparency and accountability.”

Besides the meetings with the politicians the hosting organizationsarranged much appreciated exchanges with staff, campaignersand volunteers. The sheer amount of requests for interviews andwell attended press conferences were clear signs for the highinterest by the media.

On the overall, the Lobby Tour was seen as being a success by allinvolved. One of the participants proposed to meet again in twoyears time, ahead of the G8 summit in Germany. The pressure on

Archbishop Abune Berhaneyessus SOURAPHIEL from AddisAbeba was part of this delegation, representing the Africancontinent together with fellow Archbishops Medardo JosephMAZOMBWE (Zambia) and John ONAIYEKAN (Nigeria),president of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africaand Madagascar (SECAM). They were joined by the CardinalsOscar RODRIGUEZ (Honduras) and Telesphore P. TOPPO(India).

This initiative was part of the CIDSE campaign on the MillenniumDevelopment Goals (MDGs) and of the Global Call to Actionagainst Poverty (GCAP). GCAP is the world’s largest anti-poverty coalition, whose organizations together represent morethan 150 million people globally. The campaign, bringingtogether charities, trade unions, faith groups, grassrootsmovements and women’s groups across 72 countries, is aimingto make a breakthrough on poverty in 2005 and calling on worldleaders to honour their promises on combating poverty.

At the high-level meetings with representatives of governments(Chancellor Schroeder, Finance Minister Eichel, CDU headAngela Merkel in Berlin, Finance Minister Brown in London,Presidential Advisor Camdessus in Paris, President of EUCommission Barroso in Brussels), the church leaders were

“Anyone who is not with us is against us”(LK 9:50)

the world leaders to make serious steps ahead in the fight againstpoverty has to be maintained beyond 2005.

ByAto Berhanu Tamene

ECS Justice and Peace Desk Officer

The mission of the Church is widely understood as the promotionof justice in the human society through peaceful means byinvolving itself in the fields of social, development and pastoralactivities. These are the means to fight injustices of all kind andenhance integral human development. The expected outcomeby using all the means available can only be materialized whenthe actors in the fields are committed and guided by the visionof the Church as to bring peace and freedom to the people whoare in need.

Justice and Peace Workshop in Gigessa

(Please turn to page13)

At the end of the special Synod ofAfrican Bishops in 1994, thestatement they came up with readthus, “ …by the same token we donot wish to deny our responsibility aspastors. We have not always donewhat we could in order to form thelaity for life in society, to Christianvision of politics and economics…Ifwe desire peace, we should all workfor justice…Hence, educationtowards the common good as wellas to a respect for pluralism will beone of the pastoral tasks which arethe priority in our times.” (Finalmessage of the synod, No. 33-34)

Certainly a lot has been done in line of working for justice. Thereare people who are committed to promote peace and eradicateinjustices by involving themselves in the fight and by the way theylive, but often not without cost. However, there are still the cry ofthe poor, the marginalized and the victims of all injustices heardfrom all the corners. If we listen carefully to the voices of the cry, itis a call for SUPPPORT and ASSURANCE. It is not saying andcoming up with the “to do” list, but the cry is heard as saying in thehorizon that ‘we are raising our voices, but we request yourassurance that you support us as leaders’. I think as actors on thefield and agents of peace, we can no longer be silent to the cry ofthe people who thirst for the fruits of peace.

Footnote: for the declaration and more information about the LobbyTour please visit www.cidse.org or contact Philipp Rohrer(rohrer@cidse.org).

8

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Special Feature... Special Feature... Special Feature... Special Feature... Special Feature...Ethiopian Catholic Church

Coordination Meeting 2005 By:

Dr. Daniel Keftassa ECC-SADCO Assistant Executive Director

(Please see next page)

1 Summary

The Ethiopian Catholic Church CoordinationMeeting was conducted on 23-28 May 2005in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. It is a follow-up tothe 2004 Ethiopia Coordination Meetingheld in Freiburg, Germany. The EthiopiaCoordination Meeting has been regularlyconducted since 2001. The original purposeof the Ethiopia Coordination Meeting whichbegan during the 1984/85 drought/famineand mostly taking place in Europe, was tocontribute to the efficient coordination ofemergency interventions. The 2004 Meetingfocused on food security issues as apractical link between the emergencyinterventions and the long-termdevelopment as part of the national poverty

The main objectives of the Ethiopia Coordination Meetingare.

– To better understand each other and strengthenpartnership,

– To ensure achieving common objectives of povertyalleviation and solidarity,

– To create opportunities to the donor partners toobserve the realities on the ground

– To express expectations from each other.

The major themes were:

3. The response of Ethiopian Catholic Church to theHIV/AIDS pandemic

4. Strengthening the role and capacity of the EthiopianCatholic Church for promotion of social justicethrough advocacy and lobbying, gender anddevelopment and the rights of the marginalized andvulnerable groups

reduction strategy where the Pastoral agents (Missio) alsoparticipated. The 2005 ECC-Coordination Meeting focusedon wider aspects of the socio-pastoral and developmentissues that the Catholic Church addresses.

A total fifty eight (58) participants composed of donorpartners (14), Diocesan Catholic Secretariats (17),Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat (22), Bishops representative(1), invited guests (3) congregations (1) attended themeeting that was officially launched by the keynote addressof His Excellency, Ato Simon Mechale, Commissioner,Disaster Prevention and Preparedness Commission(DPPC) of of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia(FDRE).

ECC-Coordination Meeting 2005 participatns

1. Food security as a means to address deep rootedpoverty (response and approach)

2. Urban social rehabilitation and developmentfocusing on vulnerable groups (women andchildren)

9

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

(Please turn to page 10)

5. Creating common understanding towardsintegral human development

6. Institutional capacity issues and strategicplanning at National and Diocesan levels.

The core agenda of the meeting

1. Implementation of Post-emergencyRehabilitation Program

2. Food Security and Safety-net Program (strategyand experience)

3. Implication of Current Trends on Global andLocal Development Initiatives to ECCIntervention

4. Working relations and expectations (ECS –DCSs, Partners-ECS, Partners – DCSs, DCSs– Parishes/congregations)

5. Future Focus of the ECC – integratedapproach to socio-pastoral anddevelopment work

6. Preparation for the second five (2006-2010) YearECC/ECS strategic plan

The field visits were organized to Meki CatholicSecretariat (post-emergency rehabilitation program,micro-finance institution), Emdiber (office establishment,water project and Atat Hospital) and Addis AbabaArchdiocese (the Federal Food security office andOCHA, HIV/AIDS counseling center (MMM), Urban SocialDevelopment program focusing on children and women(DOC).

The following main findings and recommendations arebased on the field visits, group reflections and plenarydiscussions:Food security – productive safety net

The objective of productive safety net program (PSNP) isto provide transfers to the food insecure population inchronically food insecure Woredas in a way that preventsasset depletion at the household level and creates assetsat the community level i.e. Cash or Food ResourceTransfers to meet basic needs, Protect assets depletionof households and Create community assets. The PSNPconsist of two components; a labor-intensive public worksand a direct support component to ensure support to thoseHH who have no labor and support alternatives.

Observations: The program is top-down government/international donors driven. The safety net program is tooambitious (5 million beneficiaries) without piloting. It isbased on “learning by doing”

There is lack of capacity and preparation at woreda level(technical and financial) to implement the program. Lack

of coordination and complementarity between PSNP andother food security interventions.

Negative impact of the delay: The program has temporarilyobscured humanitarian situation. The role of civil society isnot defined

Recommendations: Integration of short & long-termintervention. Link relief, rehabilitation and developmentinterventions. Monitor the impact of PSNP on other FSinterventions. Document and disseminate the lessons fromdifferent contexts. Resurrect Emergency Task Force.

Urban social rehabilitation and development

ECC/ECS stressed that urban poverty is increasing very fastand the Church needs to give due attention to the problem.The urban social development is being addressed by someof the participating donor partners (e.g. DCV, CAFOD,CORDAID, MISEREOR, C. Austria, SCIAF, etc.). It issuggested that the urban social development issues can beaddressed through promotion of Social Justice, HIV/AIDSand Promotion of Family Life (Children, Women). Theseactivities could serve as a link between the pastoral and socialdevelopment work.

HIV/AIDS - prevention, care, support, stigma anddiscrimination

The problem is increasing. The magnitude of the problemexceeds the response by the government and non-government agencies. Inadequate capacity in governmentoffices to manage international funds. The Church has lessaccess to the international funds managed by thegovernment. The work at the grass roots level is notadequate. Inadequate net working & experience sharingamong the Catholic Church institutions. There is lack of bothtechnical and financial capacity to adequately address theproblem.

The future focus should be on mainstreaming HIV and AIDSin pastoral ministry, social, development and emergency reliefinterventions. The response requires more effort in care andsupport to PLWHA and their families besides awarenessraising and prevention activities. It is recommended that thereis a need for enhancing the capacity of Ethiopian CatholicChurch institutions for effective response to HIV/AIDSepidemic.

Social justice

Incorporate gender issues in social development programs.Need for gender balanced development planning andimplementation. Need for advocacy to influence policies onsocial, cultural, religious and traditional rules, regulations thatundermine the role of women in social and development work.

10

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Ethiopia Coordination (Continued from page 9)

(Please see next page)

Promote improved targeting systems to address the needyand disadvantaged. The experiences and Church valuescould be well applied/transmitted through addressing socialjustice.

Holistic Mission of the Church – bridging pastoral andsocial development

Donor partners with development mandates are ready tosupport ‘integrated’ approach but ECC/ECS need to ensuresufficient capacity at ECS level for pastoral coordination,which should include building bridges between the pastoraland social work. ECC/ECS needs to look at the creativepossibilities for a more integrated approach. For example,the link between Food Security work (Productive Safety NetProgram at community level) with a Justice and Peaceagenda e.g. entitlements issue ensuring that the mostvulnerable are receiving support. The other example couldbe linking the Church’s role in care and support for peopleliving with HIV/AIDS and Justice and Peace such as acampaign at national level for access to anti-retroviral drugsand the means by which these can be sustained? Exposurevisits of ECS/DCS staff to some of the Justice and Peaceprograms which are more developed – such as in Zimbabweand Zambia to give pictures of what a more integratedapproach might look like.

It is recommended that the bishops and pastoralcoordinators need to participate in the Partner Coordinationmeeting. One suggestion would be that the donor partnerswould ask some of their senior bishops or theologians toaccompany them to attract the Ethiopian bishops to attendthe meeting to enable a greater diversity of discussion. Thismight also attract some of the pastoral organizations toattend as well.

funding issues – with greater transparency andcomplementarity.

Capacity issues

Diocesan offices have different capacity and there is a needto support the new dioceses without compromising for thestronger dioceses. Less experienced Dioceses need to buildup their capacities slowly and demonstrate goodperformance. Focus on smaller scale, more innovativeprojects to test out capacities and build on community levelassets, rather than trying to replicate large scale programsbeing undertaken by the stronger Dioceses. Develop a clearvision and strategic direction based on the experience andrealities on the ground. The focus has to be to developstrategic direction and approach to the social anddevelopment work rather than focusing on infrastructure asa priority. ECS needs to make needs assessment at differentlevels and use the information for planning organizationalcapacity development to diocesan offices. Partners needto develop strategy to provide capacity building support bothto the dioceses and ECS. Strengthen ECS to be able toprovide capacity support to DCSs.

In-depth understandings of the working relations. Enhanceinformation flow. Need for a minimum structure. Strengthenthe link between the Pastoral and social and developmentwork

ECS expectations from Donor partners

1. Understand and support the roles of ECS (rolesat national level, at DCS level, etc.)

2. Enhance the cooperation to ECS in promoting theprinciples and approaches of “Human IntegralDevelopment” to achieve its Mission.

Donors/ECS/DCS/congregation/parish partnerships

ECS and DCSs are legally mandated to represent theChurch at Federal and regional levels, respectively. Theworking relations and cooperation at all levels is importantfor the coordination, facilitation and for legal purposes. AllChurch organs are interdependent. This interdependenceneeds to be understood, recognized and respected. Wewant to see the church as one body with differentresponsibilities.

The three-way; Dioceses, ECS and the donor partners’collaborative way is suggested so that the proposals thatthe DCSs produce have a better chance of being funded.Need for more discipline from the donors side in promotingECS as a service to DCSs, and also making use of ECS tocomment and endorse the proposal before going ahead withfunding.

Expectations from each other

ECS expectations from DCSs

Strategic Plan and longer-term support/coordination

The donor partners very well accept the second phasestrategic planning. Partners are ready to provide financialand technical support to the process. A gentle and subtlepace and motivation of the Bishops and Dioceses toparticipate actively is suggested.

A more regular meeting (every 2-3 months) of the donorpartners based in Addis Ababa is suggested to shareinformation about the work with ECS/DCS and in Europe/US, and those donor partners based in Europe and USwould like to engage more regularly with the wider donorgroup and ECS in between the annual partner coordinationmeetings. ECS to convene the meetings of the donorpartners based in Addis Ababa. This mechanism could alsobe the means by which donor partners engage in thestrategic planning process and the means by which thedonor partners and ECS can discuss longer term institutional

11

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

3. Give due emphasis and attention to newlyemerging Diocese (Secretariats) withoutcompromising the support of strong or traditionalDiocese.

Diocesan expectations from ECS

· Better understand the role of ECS and DCS,internalize and make known the Guideline forworking relationship.

· Support for capacity building efforts of Diocese.Already some effort being exerted. The alreadyestablished links need to be further strengthened.

· The same with coordination, facilitation role of ECS.There are good beginnings to seek financialsupport for common projects/programs. E.g. FoodSecurity

• Donor partners to form a more established forum forcoordinating longer term institutional support for ECS(to complement project by project) funding - perhapsun-earmarked common pot, multi-year-to give ECSroom to take risks.

and better outcomes. The field visits to Emdiber and Mekihelped to observe the realities on the ground. The meetinghelped the participants to look beyond emergencies to abroader view of the work of ECS/ECC, even dipping intoWomen in Development, HIV/AIDS and other areas. Meetingwith the head of food security office and OCHA in their officeswere extremely informative and helped the participantsunderstand the wider policy environment in which ECC isworking – they were also more open with the visitors thanthey would have been in a large, formal setting.

It is recommended to hold such a meeting in Ethiopia withperhaps only occasional meetings in Europe/US hosted bya donor partner when there is a specific need to do so.

Donor partners expectations from DCS

• Contribute to ECS “positions”• DCS to adopt national-level strategies to which they

have contributed e.g. HIV/AIDS, Food Security

• DCS - to contribute to ECS financially if ECSprovides added value

• Support inter-diocesan exchanges

• ·Dialogue between Bishops Conference andProvincials of Congregations on boundaries andways of working

• ECS’s donors to ensure endorsement ofcongregation proposals by Diocesan Bishops andseek comments from ECS

The date of the meeting needs to be set at a regular dateevery year and should be decided well in advance beforethe meeting. The month of May has been suggested as apreferable time for the meeting.

Diocesan expectations from donor partners

The partnership should be based on TRUEPARTNERSHIP

· Flexibility

· Support for capacity building, income generation(for Diocesan Offices)

Donor Partners expectations from ECS

· ECS to “take positions” based on priorities andgood knowledge of grassroots (i.e. HIV/AIDS,Food Security)

Partners’ expectations from parishes/congregations

• ·Contribute and adopt national strategies

On the organization of the meeting

The planning and overall coordination was well done. Theworkshop style enabled more productive group discussions

· Be innovative and experimental-promote this withDCS partners

• Improved reporting (learning cycles)

• Capacitating Dioceses and parishes to meetagreements drawn up with donor partners (or don’ttake the funds).

•· Build lobbying capacity for advocacy

• ECS to participate actively at national level policy/implementation managements and communicateoutcomes to concerned DCS and others.

• Equip donor partners to support ECS localadvocacy initiatives (Pastoral letters, BishopsConference, etc) and make links to wider advocacycampaigns.

WHAT DO YOU SEE BELOW?

A Rabbit... Or A Duck? hint: the duck is looking left, the rabbit is looking right How many legs does this elephant have?

12

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Dr Daniel Keftassa

ECC-SADCO Assistant Executive Director

The 5th General Assembly of the EthiopianCatholic Church Social and DevelopmentCommission (ECC-SADCO) was carried out on

ECC-SADCO General AssemblyBy:

1. ECC-SADCO and ECC-SDCOs annualreport (2004) and plan (2005)

2. The 2004 ECC-SADCO audit report andapproval

(Please tsee next page)

3. Post-emergency rehabilitation programincluding ECC medium term food security

The participants of the General Assembly wereall Diocesan Social & Development CoordinatingOffices (SDCOs) each represented by twodelegates -20 (10 DCSs, 2 delegates each), all

ECS Governing Board members (14) and ECStechnical staff

Out of the expected 34 voting members, 28 wererepresented, the highest level of participation

since the establishment of ECC-SADCO.

The major agenda items of the GeneralAssembly were:

program and productive safety net program

4. ECC initiatives and emerging programs onHIV/AIDS prevention and control

5. ECC initiatives in Justice and Peaceprogram in line with Catholic SocialTeaching

The relations and cooperation between ECS and

Issues of Gender, HIV/AIDS, Human rights,Justice and Peace, integral human developmentneed to be taken as cross cutting issues in allsocial and development work

A common policy and strategy will also help us torespond to the internal and external environmentmore timely and uniformly.

4 Restructuring and OrganizationalTransformation

The Ethiopian Catholic Church Social andDevelopment Commission and the DiocesanCatholic Secretariats have been under dynamicrestructuring and organizational transformationprocess since 1999.

April 12-13, 2005, at the Ethiopian CatholicSecretariat (ECS) Conference Hall.

6. The status of ECC-policy and strategyformulation process and preparations for the2nd phase (2006-2010) ECC/ECS five yearsstrategic plan

1 Enhancing teamwork

One of the contributions of the restructuring andstrategic planning has been improved workingrelation between Ethiopian Catholic Secretariatand Diocesan Catholic Secretariats (DCSs). Theunderstanding of common thinking for commongoal is showing progressive improvement

The Catholic Social Teaching needs to beunderstood in a deeper sense and applied by allsocial and development workers of the Church

The following issues were highlighted during theGeneral Assembly

DCSs have considerably developed. The relationhas become clearer and functional. ECS hasplayed a considerable role for this better workingrelations and cooperation through workshops,training, consultation meetings and facilitation forDiocesan offices based on the mandates givento it by the Episcopal Conference and requestscoming from the Diocesan Secretariats.

2 Integration of pastoral dimension insocial and development work

Some encouraging efforts are being made topractically integrate the social and pastoraldimensions of the Church’s work. Seminars andtrainings are being given on Catholic SocialTeaching both by ECS and Diocesan offices

Special attention should be given for closecooperation and integration of pastoral anddevelopment work.

3 Policy and strategy development

Common policy and strategic approachenables us to have a unified understandingand approach to our social and developmentwork.

13

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Anyone who is not... (Continued from page 7)

This effort needs to be encouraged to improve theefficiency and effectiveness of the social and

A number of integrated community developmentprograms are emerging under the DiocesanSecretariats.

One of the indications for the Church’s commitmenttowards long term and sustainable is the strategic linkof emergency with long term and sustainable foodsecurity programs

Community empowerment is being understood as theonly way to achieve sustainable development.

We need to develop the concept and strategy of theChurch’s involvement in justice, peace and human

ECS is preparing for the second phase (2006-2010)strategic planning. The participation and closecollaboration of all Diocesan Secretariats is required

rights issues.development services

5 Focus on Long term and sustainabledevelopment

When this request is not given due consideration, quiteoften we hear the other side of the coin - those whodenounce the injustices of some kind committed withinthe “church”. By the “church” here is meant to leadershipqualities - which can simply be enumerated as self-interest, imposition, nepotism, corruption, powerstruggle, promiscuity and employee - employerrelationship. The connotation is negative if it isconsidered as an attack against individuals. But theseare purely human practices at any level of leadershipand has nothing to do with the “Mother Church” whichprotects all her children, but they are indicative thatsomething which is not in line with the church’s missionis going on. However, such practices do not deter theuniversal church from fulfilling its mission. In fact thesepeople who raise their voices against and denounce

the malpractices of the individuals on the areas ofleadership quality should not be seen as rebels andavoided by all means, but allies in the fight of injusticesand promoters of peace, because, they are pointingout some weaknesses on the journey and seekingfor the corrective measures without neglecting theindication pointed out.

On the other hand these people should be consideredemphatically very strong allies because, if they areagainst the whole system, they should have been outlong back from the system. It is true also as theteachings of Jesus points out, “Anyone who is notwith us is against us”. Hence, let’s revive the moto ofthe Bishops that, …If we desire peace, we shouldcommittee ourselves to denounce injusticescommitted against human rights…and support thosewho are victims to stand for their rights by themselves.

6 Special effort to curb the HIV/AIDSPandemic

The effort being made to mitigate the impacts of HIV/AIDS by Catholic Church institutions is veryencouraging. New projects on the prevention andcontrol are emerging.

However, the magnitude of the problem requires well-coordinated and intensified effort.

to develop the second five years of ECS strategicplanning.

All concerned offices need to be prepared tomaximize the benefits of the forthcoming EthiopianCatholic Church Coordination Meeting in May 2005

A multi-sectoral approach needs to be adopted. HIV/AIDS should be mainstreamed into all the pastoral,social and development projects and programs.

7 ECC/ECS involvement in Justice andPeace issues

The Ethiopian Catholic Church has been active in thepromotion of peace and reconciliation between Ethiopiaand Eritrea in the last years of border conflict. TheChurch is known for promotion of social justice atdifferent levels.

The newly established Justice and Peace office hasalready done a commendable effort.

The assembly was officially opened and chaired byHis Grace Abune Berhaneyesus D. Souraphiel, thePresident of the Ethiopian Bishops Conference andEpiscopal Commissioner of the ECC-SADCO.

8 A way forward

The last five years, after restructuring of ECS andDiocesan Secretariats, have special place in theCatholic Church social and development work. Thequality of work and approach to development hasshown progressive improvement.

Although a number of achievements have beenrecorded in the past few years, a lot needs to bedone as a way forward to reach and serve thecommunities that need our assistance.

The restructuring process of some Diocesan officesneeds to be encouraged.

Our mission of integral human development will onlybe attained through a practical application of the socialteaching of the Church on justice, peace and basichuman right

Close collaboration of all Diocesan offices andCatholic Church institutions is essential

14

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

Ato Alelign Melaku joined ECS on the first of June 2005 as theSocial Rehabilitation Officer in the Social Rehabilitation Unit.

Ato Alelign is a Sociologist who graduated in the year 2000from the Addis Ababa University, Sociology and SocialAdministration Department in 2000. He worked in various placesin Ethiopia, both for governmental and non governmentalinstitutions where he gained experiences in designing,implementing and monitoring various community based projectactivities in a holistic manner. This gave him the opportunity todevelop the insight, the experience, and the devotion to workrelentlessly towards alleviating poverty. in Ethiopia. Ato Alelignjoined the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat with the main aim atcontributing his own share in endeavouring to help the activities of the Catholic Church ofEthiopia to the best of his ability with the spirit of collaboration and goodwill.

New Staff Members at ECS...

Sr Dinknesh Gurmessa, a graduate of the Wolliso St Luke College of Nursing, is part of the‘first-borns of St Luke’ as they were fondly called by the Principal Tutor, Sr. Carmel MaryFMM.

Soon after graduation, Sr Dinknesh has taught at the same collegefor two years She worked as a Senior Clinical Nurse and attendeda one-year course of in—service education from 2000 to 2003. SrDinknesh gained a lot of experience especially when she handled

On 6 June 2005, Sr. Dinknesh joined the Ethiopian CatholicSecretariat as School HIV/AIDS Coordinator. She hopes tocontribute to the fight against HIV/AIDS by bringing a behaviouralchange in the lives of the young generation in the schools. She isvery grateful to God and to all those who helped in the makings ofwhat she is today.Sr Dinkensh Gurmessa

the one-year up-grading course from Health Assistants to SeniorClinical Nurse for 100 students.

Ato Alelegn Melaku

Ato Hailegabriel Wolde started work with ECS on 10 March 2005.He graduated in 1991 with a diploma in Comprehensive Nursingfrom the Centralized School of Nursing of Addis Ababa, now underthe Addis Ababa University Medical Faculty. In 1999, he completedhis B.Sc. degree in PublicHealth from the Jimma University. In 2004,he graduated with an M.Sc. degreein Health Promotion from theUniversity of Ulster at Jordanstown, New Ireland.He worked as aPublic Health professional at different levels and at various loca-tions before leaving for the United Kingdom to undertake his post-graduate study.

enormous social and economic impact such as filarial diseases and malaria. His academic back-ground and wealth of professional experience combined with his keen interest in and his ambition toserve the ECS Health Department will no doubt be very good commendations for him to effectivelycoordinate the department’s day to day activities and facilitate the successful achievement ofits goals towards promoting the health of the poor and the under-privilieged.

He has special interest in endemic health problems which have Ato Hailegabriel Eolde

15

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

PRESS RELEASE

The postcards were collected through a massawareness and mobilization campaign thatformed part of the Global Call to Action againstPoverty and was launched at the World SocialForum in Porto Alegre in January 2005. Sinceit began, the postcard campaign has beentaken up all over the world spanning fromEurope to Africa, Latin America and Asia. FiveCatholic Bishops from developing countriesvisiting Europe in May to lend their voice toCIDSE’s call to the G8, visited 10 DowningStreet with one batch of the postcards in ademonstration of the support that thiscampaign has received across all sections ofsociety. This weekend CIDSE will join the“Make Poverty History’ Rally in Edinburgh andbe part of the giant human white band aroundthe city center symbolizing the globalmovement calling upon the G8 to end poverty.

Setting the benchmarks of what CIDSE wouldconsider a true demonstration of commitmentto end poverty, Ms Overkamp said: ‘Only achange in the way of doing business by theformation of a genuine partnership with peoplein developing countries will allow thosesteeped in impoverishment to lift themselvesout of their present situations. Anything shortof this will be unacceptable to us, thegeneration that has set itself the task to turnthe tide on poverty by committing to theMillennium Development Goals.’

-----------------------Notes to the editor:• During the G8 summit, CIDSE will be represented in Scotland through Christiane Overkamp, Secretary General. For information, requests for comments and interviews please contact Philipp Rohrer (rohrer@cidse.org; +32-2-282 40 71)• CIDSE is an alliance of 15 catholic development organizations from Europe and North America (www.cidse.org)• The Global Call to Action against Poverty (GCAP) is the world’s largest anti-poverty coalition, whose organizations together represent more than 150 million people globally. The campaign, bringing together charities, trade unions, faith groups, grassroots movements and women groups across 72 countries, is aiming to make a brekthrough on poverty in 2005 and calling all world leaders to honour their promises on combating poverty (www.whiteband.org)

CIDSE delivers over 260,000 postcardsto Tony Blair

Brussels, 29 June 2005 - At the G8 summitnext week, the catholic network CIDSEexpects Tony Blair to announce that he hasreceived tens of thousands postcards fromall over the world asking the G8 to doubleaid and improve its quality, cancel debt thatprevents the achievement of the MillenniumDevelopment Goals, end dumpingimmediately and let developing countriesprotect their farmers. Delivering over 260,000postcards addressed to him as the host ofthe G8 summit,

CIDSE reminded the UK Prime Minister thatthese cards represented the voices ofresponsible citizens from all over the worldwho are expecting courageous decisions toend poverty to be made at next week’smeeting.

On releasing the total count of postcards sentto Blair, Christiane Overkamp, Secretary-General of CIDSE remarked: ‘The highpriority given to development at this year’sG8 Summit and the announcement on debtby G7 Finance Ministers in June areencouraging. However, actions so far havefailed to go far enough to signal willingnessto put an end to the continuing crisis ofpoverty today.’

16

Vol. III - No.2 June 2005

POST- ELECTION MESSAGE OF THE BISHOPS OF THE ETHIOPIAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

To our Catholic Faithful and to All People of Goodwill

Ethiopian people. The international community has also expressed its admiration and appreciation for theresponsible and peaceful manner in which the elections were conducted.

all those concerned to enhance the quality of the people’s lives by creating an atmosphere of mutual respect,since that leads to peace, stability and development. To that end and, indeed, for the common good of allEthiopians, we encourage all concerned to take steps in promoting tolerance and mutual respect.

In the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ we repeat His words: “Peace I leave with you; my own peace I giveto you. . .Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid” (Jn. 14: 27).

For our part, as the Bishops of the Ethiopian Catholic Church, with God’s help we appeal to you to beresponsible citizens who pray for the gift of peace, unity, love and mutual understanding.

It is our prayerful wish that the outcome of the elections, expressing the will of the people, be respected byall.

We, the Catholic Bishops of Ethiopia, gathered together in Adigrat for our ordinary assembly, greet you withthe words of the Apostles and wish you grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christand the Holy Spirit (cf 2 Tim. 1:2). Apart from discussing and deliberating on matters related to the EthiopianCatholic Church, we took into consideration recent events in our country. We recall with a degree of nationalpride the recent elections as an important step towards democratisation and the active participation of the

Unfortunately, after the remarkable and historic elections, incidence of violence occurred. We abhor violenceof any kind, and in the name of God we appeal for peace, tolerance and goodwill. We deeply regret this andoffer our deepest sympathy to those families who subsequently have tragically lost their members. We urge

May the Holy Spirit enlighten and guide all of us.

EDITORIAL BOARDEDITORIAL BOARDEDITORIAL BOARDEDITORIAL BOARDEDITORIAL BOARD

GOD BLESS ETHIOPIA!

1. Most Rev. Archbishop Berhaneyesus D. Souraphiel, CMMetropolitan Archbishop of Addis ababa

2. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Domenico Marinozzi, OFM, Cap, Vicar Apostolic of Soddo-Hosanna3. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Lorenzo Ceresoli, MCCJ, Vicar Apostolic of Awassa4. Abune Woldetensae Ghebreghiorghis, OFM, Cap, Vicar Apostolic of Harar5. Rt. Rev. Msgr. Leonardus Dobbelaar, CM, Vicar Apostolic of Nekemte6. Abune Tesfaselassie Medhin, Eparch of Adigrat7. Abune Kidane-Mariam Teklehaimanot, Emeritus Eparch of Adigrat8. Abune Abraham Desta, Vicar Apostolic of Meki9. Abune Musie Ghebreghiorghis, OFM, Cap, Eparch of Emdibir10. Msgr. Theo Van Ruyven, CM, Prefect Apostolic of Jimma-Bonga11. Msgr. Angelo Moreschi, SDB, Prefect Apostolic of Gambella

Adigrat, June 19, 2005Ethiopian Feast of Pentecost

Dr Tesfaye Gizaw Mrs Leticia Padolina Ato Teklemariam SamuelDr Tesfaye Gizaw Mrs Leticia Padolina Ato Teklemariam SamuelDr Tesfaye Gizaw Mrs Leticia Padolina Ato Teklemariam SamuelDr Tesfaye Gizaw Mrs Leticia Padolina Ato Teklemariam SamuelDr Tesfaye Gizaw Mrs Leticia Padolina Ato Teklemariam SamuelAto Berhanu Tamene Ato Sisay Wagnew Ato Ephrem W/MeskelAto Berhanu Tamene Ato Sisay Wagnew Ato Ephrem W/MeskelAto Berhanu Tamene Ato Sisay Wagnew Ato Ephrem W/MeskelAto Berhanu Tamene Ato Sisay Wagnew Ato Ephrem W/MeskelAto Berhanu Tamene Ato Sisay Wagnew Ato Ephrem W/Meskel

CONTRIBUTORSCONTRIBUTORSCONTRIBUTORSCONTRIBUTORSCONTRIBUTORSMr Janni Oosthuizen, CAFOD/TROCAIREMr Janni Oosthuizen, CAFOD/TROCAIREMr Janni Oosthuizen, CAFOD/TROCAIREMr Janni Oosthuizen, CAFOD/TROCAIREMr Janni Oosthuizen, CAFOD/TROCAIRE

Mr Philipp Rohrer, CIDSEMr Philipp Rohrer, CIDSEMr Philipp Rohrer, CIDSEMr Philipp Rohrer, CIDSEMr Philipp Rohrer, CIDSEDe Daniel Keftassa, ECC-SADCODe Daniel Keftassa, ECC-SADCODe Daniel Keftassa, ECC-SADCODe Daniel Keftassa, ECC-SADCODe Daniel Keftassa, ECC-SADCO

W/rt Yodit Alazar W/rt Kokeb G/Michael W/rt Yodit Alazar W/rt Kokeb G/Michael W/rt Yodit Alazar W/rt Kokeb G/Michael W/rt Yodit Alazar W/rt Kokeb G/Michael W/rt Yodit Alazar W/rt Kokeb G/MichaelTechnical AssistantTechnical AssistantTechnical AssistantTechnical AssistantTechnical Assistant Circulation/DistributionCirculation/DistributionCirculation/DistributionCirculation/DistributionCirculation/Distribution