Ethiopian church reports conflict

by Peter Stanford THE controversy over the persecution of Christians in Ethiopia has continued this week with fresh reports of a concerted policy on the part of the Marxist Government in Addis Ababa to repress the Churches.
A document, reputedly from the Ethiopian Ministry of Information and National Guidance, was quoted in The Times earlier this week. It stated that "there cannot be a more urgent task than that of the immediate launching of a campaign to remove the evils of religion".
However, Hugh Kay, editor of the Jesuit publication The Month in a letter to The Times has pointed out that the document bore remarkable similarities to one published in his own paper in September 1982. Dr Richard Pankhurst, a former Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies in Addis Ababa, stressed to the Catholic Herald that the document had never been "published" by the Ethiopian ministry as The Times alleged. it had first appeared in print in Arabic papers towards the end of 1981, and he believed that it was in fact a position paper drawn up by staff at the ministry. The policy described had never been official Ethiopian government policy he emphasised. He remarked that it was "extraordinary" that The Times report should have given the document no date.
Others reports of persecution of Christians have been questioned this week by churchmen recently returned from Ethiopia. Fr Oliver McTerrian, parish priest of St Francis of Assisi in west London, visited the southern province of Sidamo earlier this year. He had seen a new Catholic cathedral under construction in Awasa and during tours of neighbouring hill towns had noted a remarkable growth in Christian communities.
It was certainly "not a Moscow style approach to religion" Fr McTernan said speaking of the Ethiopian government's attitude to the churches. He did feel that there was an "uncertainty" and at times a "random" approach towards relations with Christian groups, and that there had undoubtedly been persecution in recent years.
Some of the more fundamentalist Christian Churches had suffered through a dash of principles with the Government, Fr McTernan reported.
Their attitude to military service — they are opposed to it — had led to conflict with the authorities he said.
One of the Churches which has suffered most through persecution has been the Mekane Jesus (Lutheran) Church. A spokesman for the Lutheran World Federation, Dr Roger Kahfe tofd the Catholic Herald from Geneva that severe persecution of the Mekane Jesus Church in the province of Wollo and Wellega continued. He spoke of the disappearance of Gudina Tumsa, General Secretary of the Mekane Jesus Church in 1979.
However he confirmed that in the wake of the famine chur€11state relations and co-operation had improved. This impression was born out by Fr Gus O'Keefe of the Christian Relief and Development Association in Addis Ababa who stated this week that "grain is getting through to the camps and death rates are falling. In Korem death from starvation or related diseases is below 40 a day, compared to well over 100 two weeks ago".
Over fl million has now arrived at the Cafod ofices for relief in Ethiopia. Cafod have this week highlighted the problems faced by Chad and the Sudan, both suffering from drought, and in the case of Sudan coping with a flood of refugees from Ethiopia and Chad. Cafod have sent 00,000 to Chad and £150,000 to Sudan for emergency relief.