Pope urges Catholics in Horn of Africa to help Somalis

Oct 17, 2005 (VATICAN CITY) — Pope Benedict XVI on Monday urged Catholics from the Horn of Africa to offer aid to those suffering because of violence and instability in Somalia as he visited a seminary for Ethiopians and Eritreans.

Speaking in English to bishops from Ethiopia and Eritrea making a periodic visit to Rome, Benedict said political instability in neighboring Somalia made it “almost impossible to live with the dignity that belongs properly to every human person.”

Somalia formed a transitional government in 2004, but the country remains predominantly a mixture of clan fiefdoms with no government to support them.

Noting that Catholics in the area are a small minority, Benedict encouraged what he called “practical ecumenism” among Catholics and other Christian faiths for joint humanitarian endeavors to alleviate the suffering caused by sickness, hunger and war.

The pope also expressed satisfaction for the recent accord between the Church and the Ethiopian government to establish a Catholic university in that country.

Benedict spoke to the bishops while visiting the Ethiopian College, a seminary marking the 75th anniversary of its founding. The pope called the location of the college within Vatican walls “an eloquent sign of the close bonds of communion linking the Church in your countries with the See of Rome.”

(AP/ST)