Missionary Trip to ETHIOPIA — Reported by Joseph Meaney, May 2010

Africans frequently think of Ethiopia as an ancient biblical land whose Christianity goes back to the Acts of the Apostles. Many, also, are proud of having successfully resisted colonization, except for an Italian interlude from 1936-1941. Americans, on the other hand, tend to recall the heartbreaking famine images on their television screens from 1984-85. Less well-known was the “Red Terror” caused by the Derg military regime after they overthrew Emperor Haile Selassie in 1974 and created a Soviet-backed Communist state until 1991. Their collectivization of agriculture and other Marxist policies, including spending 46% of Ethiopia’s revenues on the military, was what helped transform a severe drought into that terrible famine in the 1980s. Such extreme suffering and impoverishment created a vulnerability in Ethiopia that has been seized upon by abortion and contraception-promoting workers from the Culture of Death.

700 Abortions a Day in the Capital City!

Human Life International (HLI) is desperately needed in Ethiopia. They are literally besieged by the abortion-promoting forces. The legislature legalized abortion in 2005, and since then, Marie Stopes International opened a floodgate of preborn baby killing, as they aggressively expanded their activities in Ethiopia. We were told that each of the ten Marie Stopes centers in the capital city of Addis Ababa alone do an average of 70 abortions a day! How diabolical, I thought, when Ethiopians told us that young men harass women walking by the Marie Stopes center located next to the Catholic cathedral with offers of cheaper abortions done in the private offices of doctors… God have mercy on them. The huge number of children being aborted is impossible to know in this greed-driven unregulated industry.

HLI Missionary Joseph Meaney (right) with Fr. Aloysius Mugisha, a missionary with the Apostles of Christ.

Faced with this immense crisis, HLI is so grateful for
Fr. Aloysius Mugisha, a missionary with the Apostles of Christ.
This new congregation was founded in Uganda and is sending
out hundreds of priests in Africa and around the world. Fr.
Aloysius studied in Kenya, where he was introduced to the HLI
Seminarians for Life group that Fr. Rafael Wanjohi started. It is
beautiful to see the concrete results of our “graduates” from
the Seminarians for Life program spreading the Gospel of
Life wherever their priestly ministry takes them.

When Fr. Aloysius was sent to Ethiopia by his religious
superiors last year, he saw how desperately they need pro-life
missionaries and educational activities. He started the “Precious
is Life Apostolate” and invited HLI to come for a speaking tour.
Emil Hagamu, our HLI regional coordinator for English-speaking
Africa, and I were very glad to respond to this invitation.

Catholic Church Leader Rolls out Red Carpet for HLI

Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa gave us a particularly kind reception at his residence. learned some interesting Ethiopian history from him. For instance, in the 16^th century, the Ethiopian Orthodox Emperor appealed to the Pope for help against Muslim invaders. With the help of the Portuguese, the attack was driven back. Today, Ethiopia is calling for aid again as innocent lives are at risk. The Ethiopian bishops have published two pastoral letters on the right to life: the first in 1999, entitled “Human Life is Sacred;” and the second, “Abortion is Destruction of Life,” which was published when the new Ethiopian abortion law was being debated. The Archbishop gave us his blessing and encouragement to carry the message of respect for human life throughout Ethiopia.

Fr. Aloysius organized an HLI pro-life day with the Catholic seminarians at the Capuchin Franciscan Institute of Philosophy and Theology in Addis Ababa. All the Ethiopian dioceses and most religious congregations send their students to this central institution, which currently educates 110 seminarians. The training session was a success, and the Father Rector invited us to come back any time. We added the seminarians to our English-language HLI Seminarians for Life newsletter mailing list. (Ethiopians have classes in English after finishing elementary school.)

We planned our trip to avoid the rainy season, but Mother Nature had other ideas. Emil and I had plenty of time to pray or catch up on sleep while waiting in tremendous traffic jams occasioned by cars or vans getting stuck in the mud and blocking intersections. For some reason the rains came later this year, causing havoc in already poor driving conditions.

I do have to give Ethiopia high marks, however, for strictly enforcing the rules concerning how many people can be stuffed into mini-vans. We thus avoided being crammed like sardines on the over three-hour ride south to the city of Hawassa. Along the way I saw men in the fields behind oxen and wooden plows. It felt like time-travel! Actually, the traditional Ethiopian calendar, which is still in use, is a little over 8 years behind the standard Gregorian calendar. Donkeys seem to be the main form of transportation in the countryside. Many outside observers have remarked that, with modern equipment/farming practices, Ethiopia could easily multiply their agricultural yield several times. I did see evidence that agri-businesses producing flowers for export are building huge greenhouses.

In Hawassa, we spoke to a great group of Catholic university students. Many were shocked to learn that abortion had been legalized in their country! They also did not know about all the population control groups that are targeting them. One thing they were all aware of was the condom. The promotion of the latex solution to the AIDS epidemic is everywhere in Ethiopia. I saw plenty of billboards advertizing the “Sensation” brand of condoms. Fr. Aloysius says that many child-vendors, who traditionally sell candies or trinkets, now walk around bus stations and other public places hawking cheap condoms.

Condoms are Sinking Ethiopia Deeper into the AIDS Crisis

Joseph Meaney (right) with Emil Hagamu (left) and Archbishop Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa.

Predictably, the “safe sex” approach to fighting AIDS is proving a dismal failure. Ethiopia will soon pass the million person mark of HIV/AIDS sufferers. This makes it the 12^th worst country in the world for the number of HIV/AIDS cases. Abstinence and fidelity are not even given lip-service in Ethiopia. Marie Stopes and DKT instead sponsor “condom cafés” where the friendly staff wear t-shirts, aprons and caps that promote condom use. They give free samples to their young clients.

As usual, the Catholic Church picks up the pieces after the culture of death spreads its destruction. It was incredibly moving to see the center for AIDS orphans run by Mother Teresa of Calcutta’s Missionaries of Charity. They have worked in Ethiopia since 1973, and over 400 children receive their loving care. Most of these kids are HIV positive, themselves. Their parents probably bought the lie that condoms would protect them against AIDS. Now, not only they, but their innocent children as well, are paying the price for this deception.

Father Paul Marx used to say that we should thank the Lord for living in such terrible times, as it affords us so many opportunities to do good! HLI is committed to helping Ethiopia in every way we can. It is wonderful that the seminarians and professors there are eager to begin receiving materials and to start pro-life activities. Similarly, the university student groups will be a focus of our outreach, so that we can raise up young pro-life leaders. We met several medical doctors who want to start resistance to abortion among their ranks. The nun in charge of coordinating religious congregations and Catholic schools agreed to institute chastity and pro-life programs, with our input, in their schools and clinics.

Many Ethiopians have a strong devotion to St. Michael, so I found it easy to distribute thousands of St. Michael the Archangel prayer cards in English. We shall be printing them in the national language of Amharic as well. Ethiopia clearly has a tremendous spiritual battle on their hands to fight abortion.

One of our final stops before leaving was the papal nunciature. Archbishop Souraphiel sent us there to discuss the best ways to access the African Union, whose headquarters is in Addis Ababa. As many HLI supporters know, the infamous Maputo Protocol treaty came out of the African Union, although it was crafted by international abortion promoters to change pro-life laws in Africa. We hope to work with Catholics inside the African Union and to get pro-lifers to monitor the major meetings they hold, so that the pro-death crowd cannot insert their agenda into the documents with impunity as happened with the Maputo Protocol.

Ethiopia is a lovely country which desperately needs our pro-life help. Fr. Aloysius Mugisha has begun the work. He became a priest and missionary with a heart for defending God’s precious preborn children, thanks to the HLI Seminarians for Life program our benefactors support. Please continue to make it possible for HLI to inspire and form pro-life missionaries!