ADDRESS OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS TO THE COMMUNITY OF THE PONTIFICAL ETHIOPIAN COLLEGE IN THE VATICAN
Clementine Hall
[…] In meeting you, I think of many of your brothers and sisters in Ethiopia and
Eritrea, whose lives are marked by poverty, and until a few months ago, by a
fratricidal war, for whose end we thank the Lord and those in the two countries
who were involved in first person. I always pray that you may set store by the
years of suffering experienced by both sides and that there will be no more
division among ethnic groups and between countries with the same roots. May
you priests always foster good relations, be builders of peace. May you teach the
faithful who will be entrusted to you to nurture this gift of God, dressing the
inner and exterior wounds that you will encounter while seeking to promote
paths of reconciliation for the future good of the children and young people of
your lands.
It is sad to have to recall that many of them, spurred by hope to leave their
land, at enormous cost and effort, subsequently often experienced tragedies on
land and at sea. I give thanks for the reception that your faithful were able to
experience and for the commitment that some of you now experience in
following them pastorally in Europe and on other continents. More and better can
still be done both in your homeland and abroad, bringing to fruition the years of
study and sojourn in Rome, in humble and generous service always on the basis
of the union with the Lord to whom we have given our entire lives. […]
