CATHOLIC CHURCH IN AFRICA EMPOWERS ITS AFRICAN UNION LIAISON OFFICE IN ADDIS ABABA

A delegation from the Secretariat of the Symposium of Episcopal Conferences of Africa and Madagascar (SECAM) was in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, from 9th to 14th February to relaunch the SECAM-AU Liaison Office. At this occasion, SECAM Secretary General, Fr Rafael Simbine Junior, thanked the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia for facilitating the installation and relauching processes of this Liaison Office. He congratulated Most Rev. Teshome Fikre Woldetensale for his appointment by Pope Francis as Coadjutor Bishop of Emdeber, Ethiopia, and announced the appointment of Rev. Fr. Stephen Okello for the purpose of this Liaison Office.

In 2015, SECAM was granted Observer Status at the African Union (AU) with the aim of amplifying the Church’s voice from Africa, Madagascar and the Islands on critical issues such as good governance, sustainable development and the promotion of servant leadership across the continent and its islands.

“Consequently, the close collaboration between SECAM and the African Union is deemed essential for achieving unity, peace, harmonious coexistence and continuous development across the continent and its islands”, said Fr Rafael Simbine Junior in a congratulation message to the new Bishop of Emdeber, on the 11th February 2024. He precised that, in alignment with these goals, “the current leadership has strategically chosen to establish the AU Liaison Office in Addis Ababa as the focal point for the activities of the Justice, Development and Peace Commission (JDPC) of the Symposium”, particularly as an important step into the Fifth Phase of the Good Governance Project of this department of SECAM.

The General Secretary expressed the sincere appreciation of SECAM to the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia through Most Rev. Teshome Fikre for appointing Rev. Fr. Stephen Okello to work with them in order to achieve the mission assigned to SECAM-AU Liaison Office in Addis Ababa which is now officially relaunched.

Fr. Stephen Okello, Liaison Officer

During this stay in Addis Ababa, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between SECAM Secretariat’s Management and the Major Superior of the Consolata Fathers who assigned Rev Fr. Stephen Okello, a consolate Priest, as a Liaison Officer for SECAM-AU office in Addis Ababa.

The delegation of SECAM Secretariat had visited the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat and was received in an audience by Most Rev. Teshome Fikre Woldetensale, Coadjutor Bishop of Emdeber, Ethiopia.

“Counting on your usual fraternal disposition and understanding, we entrust this new office to your full supervision, with the aspiration that it will serve as an additional instrument of the Church in Africa, aimed at the implantation and growth of the Kingdom of God on the continent and in the Islands”, hoped Fr Rafael Simbine Junior.

The Secretary General of SECAM was accompanied in this mission by his Second Deputy in charge of the Justice, Peace and Development Commission (JPDC), Fr Jean Germain Rajoelison, and with Mrs. Mavis Anima Bonsu, Head of Finance and Administration at SECAM Secretariat.

This SECAM-AU Liaison Office relaunching in Addis Ababa is a proof of the exemplary collaboration between the Symposium and the Episcopal Conference of Ethiopia across various domains, particularly in fostering a positive relationship between Catholic Church in Africa and the African Union.

It was also the opportunity for the Secretary General to convey the congratulations of the Bishops of Africa and its Islands to the new ordained Bishop. Representing all the Bishops of Africa and its Islands, Fr Rafael Simbine Junior declared: “I extend my heartfelt congratulations to you, Your Excellency, Most Rev. Teshome Fikre, on your appointment and ordination as Coadjutor Bishop of Emdeber”. He expressed his profound gratitude to His Eminence Souraphiel Cardinal Berhaneyesus, Metropolitan Archbishop of Addis Ababa, for serving as SECAM’s official representative at the African Union.

The Major Superior of the Consolata Fathers signing the Memorandum of Understanding with SECAM in the presence of SECAM Management. This M.U. assigned Fr. Stephen Okello, a consolate Priest, as a Liaison Officer for SECAM-AU office in Addis Ababa.