🛑 Pope
Leo XIV has accepted the resignation of His Eminence Berhaneyesus
Demerew Cardinal Souraphiel, a member of the congregation of the
Mission
(C.M), from his role as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia.
On
the same day, Friday, June 12, on the Solemnity of the Sacred Heart
of Jesus, when the Church marks the World Day of Prayer for the
Sanctification of Priests, Pope Leo XIV appointed Bishop Abune
Tesfaye (Tesfasilasie) Tadesse Gebresilasie as metropolitan
Archbishop of the same see.
Ordained
a priest in 1976, Archbishop Berhaneyesus was appointed the Prefect
of Jimma-Bonga, Ethiopia, in 1994, and three years later, appointed
the Auxiliary Bishop of Addis Ababa and Titular Bishop of Bita, and
the following year became the Apostolic Administrator of Addis Ababa,
a position he served for one year and then was elevated to an
Archbishop of the same See.
In
2015, Archbishop Berhaneyesus was again elevated to serve the people
of God as the Cardinal Priest of San Romano Martire.
For
the successor of His Eminence Berhaneyesus, Archbishop-elect Tesfaye
was appointed the Auxiliary Bishop of the Archeparchy of Addis Ababa,
Ethiopia, on Wednesday, November 6, 2024. By then, the
Archbishop-elect, a member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart
of Jesus (MCCJ), had served as provincial superior of the Comboni
Missionaries in Ethiopia from 2005 until 2009, and later in the year
2015, was elected the first African Superior General and re-elected
for the same position during the 19th General Chapter of the
Institute in 2022.
The
Archbishop-elect has worked closely with Cardinal Berhaneyesus since
his appointment in 2024 to date.
Archbishop-elect
was born in Harar on 22 September 1969, joined the Comboni
Missionaries in 1986, and was ordained a priest on 26 August 1995 in
Addis Ababa.
He
was awarded a licentiate in Arabic and Islamic Studies from the
Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome, a
Bachelor of Arts in Sacred Theology from Pontifical Gregorian
University, also in Rome, and a diploma in Islamic studies from the
Pontifical Institute of Arabic and Islamic Studies in Rome. He
continued his Islamic studies at Dar Comboni for Arabic Studies in
Cairo and attended a formation course at the Salesian Pontifical
University of Rome.
🛑Australia:
Catholic Cardinal Confronted on His Involvement in Tigray Genocide
❖ After
a Sunday mass in St Mary's Cathedral Sydney, a woman from Tigray,
Ethiopia confronts him about his complicity in Tigray Genocide.
While he is meeting people after the mass service, a woman is
beckoned by another woman to meet him. He seems to recognize her or
her affiliation. The woman approaches him and after greeting him
respectfully, she seems to tell him that she represents the Tigray
community and then she confronts him thus:
"We
just want to ask why there wasn’t much coverage on the Tigray
Genocide. Because there is a genocide happening in the Tigray Region
right now. As a christian, as father of God you [haven’t said
much?]...
We
have a picture of you and other religious leaders standing with the
Ethiopian military."
☆ From Pope
Pius IX. (1846–1878) to Pius XI. (1922–1939)
☆ From Pietro
Antonelli (Rome, 29 April 1853 – 11 January 1901) to Andrea
'Kimi' Antonelli (25 August, 2006)
🛑 May 02, 1889
The genocidal
Treaty of Wuchale, drafted by Pietro Antonelli was signed.
Son of Count
Luigi and Camilla Folchi, grandson of Giacomo, cardinal and secretary
of state to Pius IX, he was an Italian diplomat, explorer, politician
and Italian ambassador to Ethiopia at the court of Menelik II of
Ethiopia.
“Holy War: The Untold Story of Catholic Italy’s Crusade Against
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church”
The Roman Catholic Church’s support for and encouragement of
Mussolini’s campaign against the Ethiopian Orthodox Church during
Italy’s invasion and occupation of Ethiopia from 1935 to 1943 was
diabolic and Anti-Christian. Italian forces targeted the Orthodox
Church; they ransacked and destroyed hundreds of churches and
summarily executed several thousand Ethiopian clergy. Amicable
relations had long existed between the Catholic Church in Rome and
the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, but the Roman episcopate embraced
Mussolini’s regime and its aggressive foreign policy in the
mid-1930s. In 1935, Pope Pius XI openly supported the invasion of
Ethiopia as a crusade against a country of heretics, schismatics,
pagans, and infidels. This papal support of the war, reinforced by
church sermons across Italy, helped mobilize volunteers to join the
Italian army to fight in Ethiopia.
🛑 May
2, 2026
A hat-trick of
F1 Poles for Andrea 'Kimi' Antonelli in Miami (Where Roman Lionel
Messi plays soccer/ football). Ayrton Senna, Michael Schumacher and
Andrea Kimi Antonelli are the only drivers to take three consecutive
poles after their first pole position. Antonelli was allowed to win
the race in the next day. (Also the third consecutive win of 2026)
Roman Italian
Stefano Domenicali is president and CEO of Formula 1.
Roman
"sports"—most notably gladiatorial combats, venationes
(beast hunts), and public executions—functioned as sophisticated,
ritualized massacres designed to showcase Roman power, engineering,
and control over life and death. These events were not mere
entertainment but a "slaughterhouse" ritual that
transformed, through performance, human and animal suffering into
political and religious spectacle.
The Ritual
Structure of Slaughter
Funeral
Origins: Originally, such games (munera) were funeral rites for
important figures, sacrificing lives to honour the dead.
The Midday
"Massacre" Ritual: While main gladiator fights were
professional and moderated, the lunch break was dedicated to raw
violence. Criminals, prisoners of war, and Christians were executed,
often unarmed.
Mythological
Reenactments: Prisoners were forced to act out mythological deaths,
such as being mauled by animals or falling from high structures. For
instance, a prisoner acting as Orpheus was mauled by a bear.
Ritualized
Animal Hunts: Thousands of exotic animals (lions, bears, elephants)
were killed for spectacle, often showcasing the total dominance of
Rome over nature.
Social and
Psychological Function
Showcasing
Power: The games demonstrated that Rome controlled everything:
armies, nature, and death.
Coping
Mechanism: The arena was a place where citizens could collectively
cope with the unpredictable and uncontrollable nature of death in
their everyday lives.
Political
Propaganda: Emperors used lavish games, such as the inaugrual games
of the Colosseum, to win popularity and validate their rule by
providing bread and circus games (panem et circenses)
The genocidal
Treaty of Wuchale (2 May 1889) was and artificial and dramatically
contested agreement between Emperor Menelik II of Ethiopia and Count
Pietro Antonelli of Italy, signed in Wuchale, Ethiopia. While
intending to establish friendship and define borders, a critical
translation discrepancy in Article 17 regarding Ethiopia's foreign
relations led to the First Italo-Ethiopian War.
Key details
regarding the treaty and Antonelli:
Signatories:
Signed by the traitor Oromo Menelik II (then King of Shewa) and Count
Pietro Antonelli, representing Italy.
Territorial
Cession: Italy recognized Menelik as Emperor, while Ethiopia
recognized Italian possession of parts of Eritrea and northern Tigray
(including Bogos, Hamasien, Akkele Guzay).
The Article 17
Dispute:
Italian
Version (Thesis – Problem): Stated that the Emperor of
Ethiopia must use the Italian government for all foreign affairs,
effectively creating a protectorate.
Amharic
Version (Antithesis – Problem) : Stated that the Emperor of
Ethiopia could (optional) use the Italian government for foreign
affairs.
Antonelli's
Role: Antonelli drafted the treaty, and researchers often argue
he was aware of the, or created the, discrepancies. He claimed in
1890 that it was the "first time that a king of Ethiopia cedes
part of his territory by accord".
Result:
The intentionally crafted 'misunderstanding' to deceive Ethiopians
led to the nullification (Reaction) of the treaty by Menelik's
Ethiopia, and the begin of a genocidal war (Synthesis – Solution)
against Axumite Ethiopians, culminating in the Italian defeat at the
Battle of Adwa (1896).
The Treaty of
Wuchale (1889), signed by Emperor Menelik II with Italy, was a hugely
controversial and conspiratorial pact where Italy recognized its
Oromo agent Menelik as emperor in exchange for territory (Eritrea)
and a manipulated Article XVII declaring Ethiopia an Italian
protectorate. Many critics often label Menelik a "traitor"
for selling land and negotiating with Italy to secure power against
rival Ethiopian leaders. The Treaty's "Treasonous"
Accusations: Critics argue Menelik sold out the nation by signing
away northern provinces (modern Eritrea) and forming a neutrality
pact with Italians while Emperor Yohannes IV was fighting foreign
invaders. The Deception (Article XVII): The treaty had two versions.
The Italian version forced Ethiopia to use Italy for all foreign
relations (a protectorate), while the Amharic version merely made it
optional. The Fallout: Upon discovering the deception, Menelik
denounced the treaty in 1893, leading to war and his victory at the
Battle of Adwa in 1896.Context of the Era: Menelik needed to
consolidate his power after killing Emperor Yohannes and used Italian
support to secure the throne.
Menelik was a
traitor who connived with the Mahdists, the Egyptians and the
Italians and he has nothing to do with the victory of Adwa except
brutality and shame.
Menelik was not
only brutal to his subjects, but he was also a traitor who connived
with the Mahdists, the Egyptians and the Italians to bring about the
defeat of Emperor Yohannes in order to crown himself as the king of
Ethiopia. For his troubles, he received large quantities of weapons
from the enemies of the country which he later used during the battle
of Adwa. In 1887 alone, Menelik received a huge cache of Remington
rifles and a substantial amount of money when he secretly signed the
‘’Convention of Neutrality’’ with the Italian invaders,
which was clearly an alliance against Emperor Yohannes. The Emperor
was not discouraged by this despicable deed, and, instead,
concentrated his efforts into defeating the Italians once and for
all. Unfortunately, he had to abandon this and hurriedly made his way
to Gondar to confront the invading Mahdists. His intention was to
return later to decisively deal with the Italians once he was
finished with the Muslim intruders.
The Emperor
fought the Mahdists with tremendous courage for a considerable period
and victory was within his sight. Unfortunately, the near triumph was
turned into a defeat and the Emperor was killed, and his head was
decapitated and given to the Dervish’s leader as a trophy.
Teklehaimanot of Gojjam who was in Gondar well before the Emperor’s
arrival was so scared he decided to run leaving the enemy behind to
go on the rampage. Menelik was pussyfooting and never came to the aid
of the Emperor. The death of Emperor Yohannes must have been a great
relief to Menelik and the terrified Italians, who instantly came out
of their trenches and made their way southwards. It is patently clear
that Menelik and Teklehaimanot played a significant part in his
death, and if he had not been sidetracked by the Mahdists and the
fifth columnists Menelik and Teklehaimanot, the Italians would have
been decimated by the Emperor’s commander, Ras Alula Aba Nega.
Only two months
after the Emperor’s death, Menelik signed the Wuchale treaty of 2
May 1889 conceding Eritrea to the Italians, notwithstanding the
valorous manner with which it was defended for nearly two decades by
the Emperor’s Commander, Ras Alula. The Italians abrogated the
treaty, and this led to the battle of Adwa. Thanks to the leadership
of Ras Alula and the intelligence gathering skills of Basahi Awalome
Haregote, Menelik was able to decisively defeat the Italians. The
Italians were in disarray and it was possible to expel them from
Ethiopian land all together. But Menelik chose not to, and signed the
Treaty of Addis Ababa on the 23rd October 1896, sealing the fate of
Eritrea. Ras Aluala asked Menelik for cavalry to drive the Italians
to the ‘’sea’’ but this was declined. No doubt the Emperor’s
commander would have finished off the Italians as he did in Dogali
had he been given the chance to do so.
Thanks to
Menelik, we are still tussling with the Eritrean issue 116 years
later. During the Eritrean struggle for independence, 1961-1991, the
casualties on the Eritrean side were 140,000 and on the Ethiopian
side, 1.4 million. The recent Ethio-Eritrea border war resulted in
the loss of 123,000 lives on both sides; thousands of people were
dislocated from their homesteads, and millions of people have been
forced to live as refugees in various parts of the world.
Emperor
Yohannes fought the Egyptians, Mahdists and Italians for seventeen
years and yet there isn’t a statue erected anywhere in Ethiopia as
a recognition for maintaining the territorial integrity of the
country under very adverse conditions. A Street is named after him
around Ethiopia hotel in Addis Ababa and it is written as Yohannes
instead of Emperor Yohannes. There is a statue of Menelik in Piazza
and Emperor Theodore’s Sebastopol Mortar in Churchill Avenue
round-about, why shouldn’t there be statues for Emperor Yohannes
and Ras Alula in the capital? There was a statue of Alula in Eritrea
but this was demolished by the myopic Shabiya as they did not want to
be reminded of the inescapable fact that Eritrea has always been part
and parcel of Ethiopia.
It was not only
Eritrea that Menelik gave away, he also had a hand in letting
Djibouti be part of the French protectorate when he agreed the border
demarcation with the French in 1887. This was further affirmed in
1945 and 1954 by successive Amhara rulers effectively denying
Ethiopia access to the sea. Menelik made Ethiopia landlocked and the
country is currently spending billions of dollars for using the ports
of neighbouring countries. The small contribution made by Menelik
such as the construction of a railway line linking Addis Ababa with
Djibouti and the few telephone lines erected here and there have been
eclipsed by his treachery and the catastrophic role he played in
making Ethiopia port-less just to quench his lust for power. A slim
chance that arose in 1991 should have been seized upon to rectify the
intractable problems left behind by traitor Menelik.
