 |
Pastoral Department
Pastoral DepartmentPastoral Activities There is evidence that Christianity was first introduced in Ethiopia as early as the 4th century. It is believed that the first mission of the Catholic Church to Ethiopia was in 1554 by Jesuit Missionaries. Unfortunately this first venture ended in 1577, mainly because of lack of flexibility on the part of the missionaries. Following that the other Jesuit missionaries who came to Ethiopia were expelled in 1632. Once again the Catholic Church was introduced to Ethiopia during the time of Italian invasion in 1935, through the missionaries who came to Ethiopia with the Italian solders. In the 1940s the country publicly invited the Catholic Church and starting from this time the Church existed. Although there was some resistance by the Orthodox Church, Catholicism expanded gradually and a number of pastoral, social and development institutions were established. Today there is no serious theological controversy between the two Churches; Orthodox and Catholics. The number of Catholic Christians kept growing and currently the estimated number of Catholics is about half a million. Currently there are 157 parishes and 372 outstations (chapels) in the country. There are 10 diocesan circumscriptions taking care of about 517,463 faithful.
Coordination of the Pastoral activitiesThe Ethiopian Catholic Church Bishops Conference established the Pastoral Department within the Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat with the mandates of coordinating and facilitating different pastoral activities of the Diocesan Catholic Secretariats at the national level. One of the main activities of the national pastoral department is translation, publication and distribution of religious books throughout the country. The other major activity is organizing pastoral workshops and seminars for different categories of people at zonal ad national levels. For the last 17 years, different pastoral seminars have been conducted on different topics for Priests, Sisters, Seminarians, Catechists, Laity leaders and Youth leaders. The workshops and seminars organized by the department helped all concerned persons to deepen their knowledge on the given themes. The themes of the seminars were selected by the pastoral coordinators of each diocese and approved by the Episcopal Conference. Different inputs and contributions were provided by the AMECEA pastoral department, Lumko pastoral training institute and local scholars during the seminars. Below are the themes of the seminars for the last 17 years. 1988 - The obligation to proclaim the Gospel 1989 - Liturgy in Christian life and in its several practical expressions. 1990 - The sacraments and their practical celebration. 1991 - How to announce the Gospel to the different categories of People/ Children, Youth, and Adults. 1992 - a. Formation of Pastoral Ministry in Parishes. b. The methodology in teaching religion in different Ethiopian cultures. 1993 - The rite of Christian initiation of Adults. 1994 - The catechesis of Youth for confirmation. 1995 - Sacrament of Marriage. Respect for human life. 1996 - The church as a family. 1997 - Jesus Christ word of the father. 1998 - Holy Spirit giver of life. 1999 - God the Father of Jesus Christ and Father of Mercy. 2000 - Holy Trinity. 2001 - Put your net into the deep. "Jesus Word to Peter" 2002 - Pastoral leadership. 2003 - How to know and theme the Universal Catholic Catechism. 2004 - Ethics education for catholic school teachers and headmasters. Introducing the text books of grade 7 & 8 The methodology on how to teach ethics education in classrooms.
Council of Catholic Laity of EthiopiaIn conformity with the decree of Vatican II on Lay Apostolate, the Ethiopian laity is required to effectively participate in the mission of their Church. As a result, the Ethiopian Catholic laity has established their councils at parochial and diocesan levels in view of animating, coordinating and directing the apostolic task of the laity. The Ethiopian Catholic Episcopal Conference (ECEC) approved the establishment of a national council of Catholic Laity (NCCL) in order to coordinate the diocesan laity councils and has given mandate to it to represent the laity of Ethiopia. The NCCL is an umbrella body, which comprises all the diocesan councils for laity (DCL) and the national laity movements. The council was established twenty years ago, guided by the basic rules and regulation, enshrined in the constitution that was approved by ECEC. Objective In response to Jesus' mandate and command to mission, and enlightened by the Gospel of Christ, the social teachings of the Church Vat II and the African Synod, the council for lay Apostolate promotes the evangelization of every person in Ethiopia according to the one and true Catholic faith, bringing them through the word of God and sacraments to fully lived in Christ and so sanctify the world and bring salvation to all. The major objective is to organize the Ethiopian laity for the participation in the pastoral activities of their Church. This duty was reconfirmed by the Bishops of Ethiopia in their letter "The Church we want to be" no. 17 and no. 56 December 2002. The activities of the NCCLE are directed by the provision of the constitution, by the directive of the Ethiopian Catholic Episcopal Conference, by the General Assembly, the Board of Management and the Executive of the Council. The establishment and the constitution of the Laity Council have taken its guidance from the Vat. II documents, which clearly stress the importance of the lay participation in the life of the Church. The Catholic laity of Ethiopia have been doing their best to do some Pastoral work through the men's and/or women's associations established in their respective parishes. "Thus especially by their witness of their life, the resplendent in faith, hope and charity they must manifest Christ to others" (Vat. II dogmatic constitution on the Church no. 31) and further on "The laity, however have this especial vocation to make the Church present and fruitful in those places and circumstances where it is only through them that she can become the salt of the earth" Each individual lay person must be a witness before the world to the resurrection and life of the lord Jesus and a sign of living God". The way forward · Clarify the role and value of lay apostolate movements in the Church pastoral vision. · Educate all Christians in the full meaning of small Christian communities and how lay apostolate movements relate and cooperate with them. · Help and make the faithful to be aware and build self-reliant Church. · Train all agents of evangelization with evangelization skills at all levels and motivate them for deeper understanding of their faith. · Come up with a five-year common national plan of lay activities. · Establish national youth associations. · Work on HIV/AIDS prevention and awareness programs at all levels etc.
Address:
Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat
|
|
©2005 Ethiopian Catholic Secretariat |
