Ethiopian Bishop Semahun says that seeking peace isn’t “remaining silent before evil”

Bishop Lisane-Christos Matheos Semahun of Ethiopia’s Eparchy of Bahir Dar-Dessie has called for a return to peace in the troubled eparchy, emphasizing that “to seek peace does not mean ignoring injustice or remaining silent before evil.”

“It means defending human dignity, protecting the vulnerable, seeking truth, rejecting hatred, and opening paths towards reconciliation and healing,” the cleric said in an October 6 Pastoral letter.

The Eparchy of Bahir Dar-Dessie covers parts of Ethiopia’s Amhara, Benishangul-Gumuz, and Afar regions.

These regions, as well as neighboring Tigray, have seen a surge in violence in recent days, straining communities nearly four years after the 2022 Pretoria peace agreement.

Background to the ongoing war

The Pretoria Peace Agreement was meant to end the distressing war between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF).

The two sides went into conflict following reforms by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who came to power in 2018. Ahmed sidelined the TPLF, which had dominated Ethiopian politics for nearly three decades, by centralizing federal power and thereby creating resentment amongst Tigrayans.

The breaking point came in September 2020. When the COVID-19 pandemic forced the federal government to postpone national elections, Tigray openly defied the federal government by holding its own regional vote. A battle of legitimacy ensued: the federal government deemed Tigray’s election illegal, and Tigray, in turn, refused to recognize Abiy as the rightful prime minister.

In November 2020, TPLF-led regional forces struck the Ethiopian military’s Northern Command bases in Tigray, capturing heavy weaponry and military assets. In retaliation, Prime Minister Abiy unleashed a massive federal offensive.

The 2022 Pretoria peace agreement ushered in a period of relative calm, but failure to respect the terms brought both sides into renewed conflict, triggering widespread fear, loss, and displacement, and compounding a multi-year humanitarian crisis that the country’s church leaders describe as a “Way of the Cross” for local populations.

The latest wave of violence erupted on September 23 when a coalition of the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF), the Amhara Fano National Movement (AFNM), and the Afar National Unity Revolutionary Front (Ugugumo) launched a multi-front offensive against the Ethiopian federal army and its allies. The TPLF and its partners claim they are defending themselves against an ongoing federal invasion, but the latest violence follows months of military build-ups and sporadic clashes between the two sides, as well as routine federal drone strikes that hit both military and civilian targets—including a humanitarian aid convoy.

Human rights organizations have reported gross rights violations, with reports indicating that one in ten women in Tigray have been subjected to sexual violence, eight in 100 subjected to rape, and four in 100 subjected to gang rape. Surveys also reveal that nails, screws, plastic rubbish, and other foreign bodies were forced into the reproductive organs of women, in what was seen as part of a wider effort to destroy the fertility of women in Tigray.

According to researchers at Ghent University in Belgium, the combined impact of wartime violence, famine, and a lack of medical access had killed an estimated 162,000 to 378,000 people, with other reported estimates reaching numbers as high as 600,000 killed.

Bishop Semahun laments continuing conflict, anguish, and death

“Every life lost is a tragedy,” said Bishop Lisane-Christos Matheos Semahun.

In his October 3 pastoral letter, the cleric said he was “deeply saddened” by the sheer scale of the conflict.

“I write to you with a heart deeply saddened by the recent conflict and violence that has broken out in different areas of our Eparchy. I am particularly concerned for all those whose lives have been affected by fear, insecurity, displacement, loss, and uncertainty,” he said.

“As the Shepherd of the Eparchy of Bahir Dar Dessie, I have the pastoral responsibility to reach out to you at this painful moment to encourage all people of goodwill to respond wholeheartedly with prayer, wisdom, compassion, and a firm commitment to peace.”

The cleric spoke at length about the distress the conflict has inflicted on families. “The grief of every mother weeping for a child lost to death, the anguish of children who have lost their parents, and the plight of families displaced from their homes and left to wander due to this conflict are deeply saddening and wound the heart of God,” he said.

Bishops speak out about the toll of war

Just days earlier, the bishops in the Horn of Africa Country lamented the war’s human toll, saying in a statement that the conflict was destroying communities and entrenching divisions.

“The Ethiopian Catholic Church grieves deeply over the armed conflict that is currently present in Tigray, Afar, Amhara, Oromia and other regions in our country,” the clerics said in a statement, October 1.

“Rather than resolving differences, war serves only to deepen divisions and multiplies suffering. It claims a tragic toll on precious human lives, inflicts grave devastation upon communities and property, and sow seeds of hatred, resentment, and vengeance that may endure for generations.”

The bishops said they were aware that whenever violence erupts, “the greatest suffering falls upon the most vulnerable, particularly innocent people, children, women, the elderly, and the sick.”

“We continue to raise our voice so that this may not happen and to implore the Lord to protect every human life,” they said, and noted that it was their “heartfelt prayer that all disputes may be settled through genuine dialogue and that all forms of conflict may cease.”

Earlier, on September 30, Pope Leo XIV had called on “all parties to choose the path of dialogue,” explaining that armed conflict “never solves problems but only worsens them, leaving in its wake a trail of death, destruction, and resentment.”

“Only honest engagement can lay the foundations for lasting peace,” the Pontiff said.

The nation’s bishops called for peace, but a peace rooted in justice, forgiveness and reconciliation, which according to them is the only pathway to national healing.

“Such a peace reflects the values of the Gospel, advances the common good, upholds the sacred dignity of the human person, and corresponds to the will of God for His people, “the bishops said.

They further urged all parties “to open their hearts to forgiveness and reconciliation by renewing the spirit of brotherhood and sisterhood among us, so that our nation may experience a just, lasting, and authentic peace.”

Bishop Lisane-Christos Matheos Semahun of the Eparchy of Bahir Dar-Dessie urged conversion, calling on Ethiopians to turn to God and ask for his mercy amid the raging conflict.

“I do not write to judge or condemn any person, group, or party. Rather, I appeal to everyone to reject violence and hatred and to support every genuine effort towards dialogue, reconciliation, justice, and peace,” the cleric said.

“When human strength seems insufficient and the future uncertain, God remains our refuge,” he stated, before adding that “The Lord has not abandoned His suffering people.”

Speaking about the inviolability of the human being, the cleric said it was contradictory for people to pretend to seek truth and justice while at the same time taking away lives they cannot create.

“This is a contradictory attitude that must be corrected,” he noted.

He urged the faithful to reject all the obstacles to reconciliation and peace, including hatred, rumors, misinformation, and words that inflame conflict.

“Let us seek truth and exercise prudence before sharing any information,” he said.

The bishops said it would ultimately be the responsibility of all Ethiopians to work for a return to peace.

“The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia earnestly appeals to all people, despite the differences that may exist among us, to regard the life of others as we regard our own life and the suffering of others as our own suffering, because the peace of our beloved nation, Ethiopia, is a responsibility shared by all of us.”

Fear of a regional spread

While the war rages on in Ethiopia, there are already increasing fears that it could spread through the Horn of Africa. On Monday, October 5, the EU warned that escalating tensions between Ethiopia and Eritrea risks destabilizing an already fragile region.

Ethiopian military officials have accused Eritrea, Egypt, and Sudan of supporting the Tigrayan-led opposition alliance-a charge the countries have rejected. But that did not stop Eritrea from severing diplomatic ties with Ethiopia after Addis Ababa closed its embassy in Asmara and ordered 10 Eritrean diplomats to leave. Ethiopia and Egypt also expelled diplomats amid the widening dispute.

“These risks triggering a broader regional conflict, with severe consequences for peace and stability across the Horn of Africa,” the EU statement said.

It’s a concern also raised by Father Mussie Zerai Yosief, a priest of Asmara, Eritrea, and a human rights activist.

“Many regional actors are already directly or indirectly involved; this is dangerous given the already precarious situation in the Horn of Africa,” the priest told OSVNews.

He urged the African Union to intervene and extinguish the “raging fire before it consumes the entire region.”