By Habtamu Abrdew Beture, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The newly appointed Coadjutor Bishop of the Eparchy of Emdibir and the Secretary General of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Ethiopia His Excellency Bishop Lucas (Abba Teshome Fikre) held an interview with the Ethiopian Broadcasting Corporation (EBC) on May 2, 2024.

On his interview he emphasized that “The people of Ethiopia can still rely on the indigenous social values”

According to his excellency It is heartbreaking that we hear stories of conflicts and war every day. On top of our poverty, security becomes our day to day concern. Blood shadings are becoming a simple activity in different parts of the country. We used to be considered a people of faith and humility. But nowadays this fact is questioned.

Even though religious institutions are still forming the young generation, all should pay attention to focus on spirituality over the denomination.

The religious institutions and the government are responsible to lead the youth to the right path of life and development not to war. Nobody should use the youth as an instrument for distractions and man made disasters. We are entrusted to show them the way of truth, love and justice. Our youth are encountering the challenges of unemployment and hopelessness. Two days ago we all heard another heartbreaking story: our youth lost their precious life in the Red Sea Near Digibuti. And this is our every time story.

We have to be a good samaritan for our nation. And this responsibility is shared among the Families, the politicians and we the religious leaders. We should stop taking our youth to the battlefields, and start to protect them from human traffickers, help them to take the right path of life and let them live happily in their own land.

Our social and spiritual fractures heal by prayers, good will, good acts, love and justice. Let's repent, turn our face to God and lead our young children to the truth.

We have to retrieve our indigenous social values, our tradition of reconciliation, tolerance and hospitality

Religious leaders being neutral, free from ethnic partisanship and political influences, can play a great role in being mediators, in building a culture of peace and reconciliation.

God never let a nation without a shepherd. But we shepherds of the nation are more responsible than anybody else infront of God who entrusted the life of the nation to us and told us to watch over his flock.

I strongly believe that the solution for our nation is on the children of the country itself.

His Holiness Pope Francis has appointed His Excellency Bishop Lucas as a coadjutor Bishop for the Eparchy of Emdibir on December 16, 2023 and he has been consecrated on February 11, 2024 at St. Anthony Cathedral, Emdibir.