Frederick Nzwili

Sudanese Catholic Bishop Yunan Tombe Trille Kuku Andali of El Obeid Dec. 2 described narrowly escaping execution in his country, where he has remained with the faithful amid a deadly war between the Sudan Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.

Despite the Sudanese civil war that’s devastated the region, the All Saints Anglican Cathedral in Khartoum is still standing. But its compound is now a graveyard, with a vandalized altar and missing pews, which have been chopped by soldiers for firewood, according to Archbishop Ezekiel Kondo.

Ethiopian Cardinal Berhaneyesus Demerew Souraphiel of Addis Ababa has expressed deep sorrow at the deadly landslide in Gofa Zone, in the southern part of Ethiopia, where the death toll has reportedly reached 257. Humanitarian agencies, including those that are faith-based, have scrambled to rush emergency relief to Kencho Shacha Gozdi, a remote village in the Gofa Zone, following the first landslide that struck July 22.

The Kenyan capital descended into chaos June 25 as protests over legislation dubbed a finance bill left several dead and dozens injured. The country's bishops called for peace and urged the president not to accede to the measure aimed at raising revenue by levying additional taxes.

As minerals fuel deadly conflicts in Africa, a leading cardinal urged local churches to ensure that Africa's abundant resources contribute to the benefit of its populations instead of hurting them.

At the close of an inaugural summit on climate change hosted this week by the African Union and the government of Kenya, activists who had demanded more than carbon credits and other glossy solutions to deal with climate justice issues rejected the declaration issued Sept. 6 by the political and corporate leaders in attendance. 

Eritrean authorities have freed Catholic Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim after 75 days in prison.

Leaders from nearly 200 nations are meeting for the Dec. 7-19 U.N. Biodiversity Conference known as COP15. With scientists warning that the loss of nature is accelerating at dangerous speeds, Catholic activists are urging nations at the biodiversity conference in Montreal to act to protect life on earth at all levels.

As the U.N climate change conference unfolds in the Egyptian city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Catholic bishops in Africa are warning that there cannot be climate justice without land justice.

Eritrean authorities are continuing to detain Catholic Bishop Fikremariam Hagos Tsalim of Segheneity, who was arrested at the Asmara International Airport Oct. 15.

A Vatican diplomat in southern Africa warned that deprivation and poverty among the laity could obstruct Pope Francis' vision of synodality in the region, where the challenges are widespread.

Meeting in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, July 10–18 under the shadow of some of the worst recorded ecological disasters in the region, the bishops from the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa are examining ways to help communities that are struggling to adapt to the effects of a changing climate.

Catholic priests, nuns and church agencies are providing some relief in East Africa's drought, which scientists and experts describe as the worst in 40 years.

Abune Antonios, a confined Eritrean Orthodox Church Patriarch and the longest-serving prisoner of conscience in the Horn of Africa, died on Feb. 9 at the age of 94.

 Cardinal Berhaneyesus Souraphiel of Addis Ababa called for humility, patience and gentleness, while urging the people to remember those suffering from war.

Flooding compounds hardships caused by conflict, hunger and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amid reports of mass arrests of Tigrayans in Ethiopia, a church source said fear has gripped those residing in the neighboring countries who fear they could be the next targets.

Although drought is a perennial problem, local governments could partner with faith groups to mitigate its impacts, archbishop says.

Leaders highlight relationship between biodiversity loss and climate change in region where government revenues depend on timber, mining and oil.

Catholic bishops in Kenya have banned politicians from addressing congregations in churches over concerns that the leaders were abusing the purity of places of worship.