Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia conducts Synodality Formation Training

The Pastoral Coordination Office of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Ethiopia recently completed a four-day training session to strengthen the implementation of the synodality process within the country. Held at the Consolata Fathers’ Retreat Center in Mojo, the program gathered priests, religious members, catechists, youth leaders, and lay faithful from various dioceses.

Archbishop Tesfasilasie Gebresilasie, president of the bishops' conference and archbishop of Addis Ababa, opened the training by stating that synodality must be part of daily Christian life. He described the process as a necessary path for the Church's mission rather than a final goal and encouraged participants to act as ambassadors for the Synod.

The training sessions focused on the concepts of listening, discernment, participation, and communion. During the program, Fr. Israel Goitom presented on the biblical foundations of synodality, using stories such as the journeys of Abraham and the apostles to illustrate how communal discernment and listening relate to the Church's mission.