Asmara, Eritrea, Jun 26, 2019 / 11:01 am
The head of the Eritrean Catholic Church has called for the Church's faithful to observe the current fasting season in response to the government's seizure and closing of 22 Church-run health clinics earlier this month.
Archbishop Menghesteab Tesfamariam of the Eritrean Archeparchy of Asmara wrote in a June 22 letter that "only the Lord can console us and resolve our problems."
The Eritrean Catholic Church observes the Apostles' Fast – a fasting season between Pentecost and the feast of Saints Peter and Paul – this year from June 25 through July 11. The Church uses the Alexandrian rite and the Coptic calendar, on which the feast of Saints Peter and Paul is not celebrated until the Gregorian calendar's July 12.
The Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa has also condemned the clinics' seizure.