💭 Returning From Africa, Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the foremost Presbyterian minister in Scotland church leaders condemn anti-Gay laws.
In an in-flight news conference after six days in the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan, Francis also denounced conservative critics who he said had “instrumentalized” the death of Benedict XVI.
The three Christian leaders were returning home from South Sudan, where they took part in a three-day ecumenical pilgrimage to try to nudge the young country’s peace process forward.
They were asked about Francis’s recent comments in which he declared that laws that criminalise gay people were ‘unjust’ and that ‘being homosexual is not a crime’.
South Sudan is one of 67 countries that criminalises homosexuality. In 11 countries, people can be sentenced to the death penalty for being part of the LGBT community.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said LGBTQ rights were very much on the current agenda of the Church of England and committed to quoting the pope’s own words when the issue is discussed at the church’s upcoming General Synod.
The Church of Scotland allows same-sex marriages.
Catholic teaching currently holds that gay people must be treated with dignity and respect, but that homosexual acts are ‘intrinsically disordered’.
👉 Pregnant Secretary of Pope Francis Found Dead in Her Rome Apartment
Flying back to Rome from a trip to Mexico, the pope said: “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian.”
👉 Some think, excuse me if I use the word, that in order to be good Catholics, we have to be like rabbits — but no.
Pope Francis, january 19, 2015, interview, on a flight to Rome
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on January 6, 2023
💭 The Coat of Arms of His Holiness Benedict XVI, clearly showing the influence of the Ethiopian tradition, including the Red, Gold and Green colors of Zion. We also see ‘Caput Aethiopum’ (literally “Ethiopian Head”)
Posted by addisethiopia / አዲስ ኢትዮጵያ on October 23, 2022
✞ At the Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis appeals to political leaders to find solutions for lasting peace in Tigray
Pope Francis called on political leaders “to put an end to the suffering of the defenceless population” in Ethiopia, and “to find equitable solutions for a lasting peace throughout the country.”
The Tigray region of Ethiopia has been racked with violence since war broke out almost two years ago. Earlier this month, the UN expressed grave concerns over a surge in violence beginning in August, after a five-month humanitarian truce.
Pope Francis on Sunday said he is following the confict in Ethiopia with “trepidation,” and repeated “with heartfelt concern that violence does not resolve disagreements, but only increases the tragic consequences.”
He expressed his hope that the efforts of the various parties in the conflict “for dialogue and the pursuit of the common good” might “lead to a concrete path of reconciliation.”
The Holy Father concluded his prayer with the hope that “our prayers, our solidarity, and the necessary human aid not fail our Ethiopian brothers and sisters, who are so sorely tried.”
Una tragedia che interpella la coscienza di tutti: l’allarme alimentare nel Tigray. Nel saluto post Angelus, Francesco recita un’Ave Maria per la popolazione della regione dell’Etiopia colpita da violenze. L’appello a non tollerare che si muoia di fame.
Pope Francis Asks For Prayer For Persecuted Christians In Ethiopia
Pope Francis Sunday asked for prayer for persecuted Orthodox Christians in Ethiopia, who have been targeted in ongoing ethnic clashes that have left 78 people dead.
“I am saddened by the violence of which Christians of the Tewahedo Orthodox Church of Ethiopia are victims,” Pope Francis said in his Angelus address Nov. 3.
“I express my closeness to this beloved church and her patriarch, dear brother Abune Mathias, and I ask you to pray for all the victims of violence in that land,” he said.
Since violent protests broke out in Ethiopia’s Oromia region Oct. 23, more than 400 people have been arrested and 78 have died, according to the office of Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed.
The Orthodox Christian community has been a target of violence in Oromia. A church official told AFP Africa that 52 Orthodox Ethiopians, including two church officials, have been killed in the violence since the protests began in October.
A hand grenade was thrown in a churchyard in Tsadiku Gebrekristos, and the homes and businesses of Christians were set on fire, according to local Ethiopian Borkena news.
The Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church Abune Mathias delivered a speech Oct. 28 calling for peace and grieving the dead.
“I carry a cross in my hand, not a gun. My children, I am tearfully praying to our God about your suffering. I am also continuing to plead with the government,” Mathias said, according to local Ethiopian media.
“Today I am deeply grieved. I have the urge to weep like a child … In the hopes day to day for improvement, we have been asking the government to put a stop to it. However we have seen nothing change,” the patriarch said.
Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed was awarded the 100th Noble Peace Prize in October for leading peacekeeping efforts to end the 20-year conflict with neighboring Eritrea. Violent protests began within Ethiopia less than 2 weeks after.
The protests were sparked by an allegation by political activist Jawar Mohammed that the Ethiopian government had attempted to arrest him.
The Holy Synod of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church met with Ethiopian government officials to Oct. 26 to call for peace and dialogue in the face of the violence. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church also called for three days of prayer and fasting for peace.
“God is with us,” Orthodox priest Markos Gebre-Egziabher said at a memorial service Oct. 26 for Christians killed in Addis Ababa, according to AFP.
“If they come with machetes, we will go with crosses,” Father Markos said.
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the largest of the Oriental Orthodox Churches. These Churches reject the 451 Council of Chalcedon, and its followers were historically considered monophysites – those who believe Christ has only one nature – by Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox.
Pope Francis met with Ethiopian Orthodox Patriarch Abune Mathias in Feb. 2016, and expressed his condolences for the Ethiopian Christians executed by Islamic State militants in Libya in April 2015.
In an emotional speech Oct. 28, Patriarch Mathias told his persecuted community in Ethiopia:
“While I was preaching to you about peace, those that do not know peace have deprived you of peace. My children, do not hold a grudge on me. Do not think I am silent to your plight. I always weep for you. Lord, send your Judgement, or come down to us.”