I realise the 9.30pm slot is coming late into the evening for a celebration of the work of APA – a Partnership with Africa, with a particular lens on Ethiopia and Tanzania. The GAA Galway star Alan Kerins earlier today speaking about his work with Self-Help Africa spoke about it as a “hand up” rather than a “hand out”. Making communities self-sufficient. Transforming the lives of domestic workers and street children. It’s what APA does so well.
A year ago I was privileged to visit Ethiopia with Trócaire. Africa is three times the size of Europe and the second most populous continent after Asia. In our commute from the airport we saw at first hand the demolition of livelihoods along the roads of the main thoroughfare in Addis Ababa, families were being moved out of sight to the extremities of the city where there were no services and no shops. Language is critical in a country that is one of the oldest in the world with biblical origins, we think of St. Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch (Ac 8:26-40). There are eighty recognised languages in the country that was originally known as Abyssinia. The only hint that gave a nod to those Abyssinian roots today was the Bank of Abyssinia. It’s there you would go for the local currency ‘the birr’, a currency that has been devalued many times over.
I have been asked tonight to focus particularly on Laudato Si’ and Caring for Creation. Climate Change is a reality in Ethiopia and Tanzania, and drought is an ongoing issue. In Ethiopia you washed your teeth with bottled water, nothing from the tap was deemed safe, unless of course it was boiled.
Our journey brought us to the northern part of Ethiopia, to Tigray. They felt a strong affinity to Ireland, because of our support for them in their conflict. They even likened their Ethiopian Cross to our Celtic Cross! Bishop Tesfaselassie Medhin was our very generous host during that end of our trip. We were reminded that 1M people perished in that conflict, and despite such loss of life, the resilience of the Tigray people was so obvious.
This year marks the tenth anniversary of Laudato Si’: On Care for our Common Home. Pope Francis appealed to us to hear both the cry of the earth and the cry of the poor. He reminded us everything is connected, emphasising an integral ecology throughout the document. He reminds us “there is a mystical meaning to be found in a leaf, in a mountain trail, in a dewdrop, in a poor person’s face” (LS, 233). Ecological conversion, ecological spirituality and ecological education are all subsets of this integral ecology. At the heart of our journey is a moral imperative, one that challenges all to embrace this ecological conversion and to respond with courage and compassion to the environmental crisis.
Catholic organisations were visibly present at the recent COP30 summit in Belém, Brazil: 9 Cardinals; 40 Bishops; 8 representatives from the Holy See; dozens of national and international catholic organizations with more than ten Catholic agencies and more than a thousand representatives directly involved. 1 in 25 people at COP30 were fossil fuel lobbyists. 24 out of 25 were not! This point was so easily missed.
Pope Leo sent a message to those gathered in Belém noting “in the midst of a world that is in flames, as a result of both global warming and armed conflicts”, he prayed that COP30 should be a sign of hope,“through the respect shown to the views of others in the joint endeavour to search for common language and consensus”. We know that common language and consensus was hard won.
A cursory glance through APA’s recently completed 5 year Strategic Plan shows a resilience and a commitment to empower the most vulnerable first. In its foreword it speaks not just of those living in poverty, but those often invisible to public systems. This is all about local based initiatives in Ethiopia and Tanzania, the circular economy as evidenced in charity shops such as the one on the Hacketstown Road, in Pollerton or in Athlone and meeting sustainable development goals through good environmental stewardship. The cry of the earth is indeed the cry of the poor. The climate crisis is a moral crisis. I leave the last word to Pope Francis, as towards the end of Laudato Si’ he writes:
“In the heart of this world,
The Lord of life, who loves us so much, is always present.
He does not abandon us, he does not leave us alone,
For he has united himself definitely to our earth,
And his love constantly impels us to find new ways forward.
Praise be to him!” (LS, 245)
I wish every blessing on Fr. Owen Lambert and the great team around him, whom we celebrate this evening at this annual networking event.