CARDINAL SILVESTRINI VISITS ETHIOPIA AND ERITREA

VATICAN CITY, FEB 24, 1997 (VIS) - A communique was made public today regarding the visit by Cardinal Achille Silvestrini, prefect of the Congregation for the Oriental Churches, to the Catholic communities of the Oriental rite in Ethiopia and Eritrea, which took place February 6-14.

Cardinal Silvestrini was accompanied at all times by apostolic nuncio, Archbishop Silvano Tomasi. During his stay in Addis Abeba, the capital of Ethiopia, he visited the cathedral, the seminary and some parishes. He also met with the Orthodox patriarch, His Holiness Paulos, to whom he delivered a handwritten message from John Paul II.

Upon arriving in Eritrea, he stopped in Hebo, one of the centers with a more substantial Catholic presence. In Asmara he met in the cathedral with the bishop, Zekarias Yohannes, and the Catholic community. Later he went to the seminary and the faculty of theology and met with the clergy of the eparchy, numerous religious and lay representatives. In Keren, one of the two eparchies that the Pope erected a little over a year ago, he was welcomed by Catholics as well as Orthodox and Muslims.

At the end of his visit, Cardinal Silvestrini had a meeting with the Orthodox heads of Eritrea, Abuna Philippos and Abuna Yacob. The two bishops repaid this visit by participating in the farewell meeting.
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