"I believe that today our African Churches need a lay faithful who bears witness of a deeply Christian life, a lay faithful who has a very strong spine, a lay person who is committed and inspires confidence to his own Church and who contributes to its self-sufficiency in material needs. For how long must we depend on our sister Churches for our material needs? A lay faithful who has been deeply formed by solid Christian principles would be a great help for solving many problems which oppress us."

"He became the servant of his brethren, making available to them those choice qualities with which he was endowed, such as his vast knowledge acquired though study, especially in the field of law. However, over and above his pastoral work, more than anything he gave of himself, demonstrating everywhere holiness of life and constant apostolic longing."

"In the formation of lay faithful, in particular with regard to the family - a living cell of society and the domestic Church - one should specify the various dimensions of formation."

"We come from all over the world, Africa, Asia, Latin America, but we have found that our experiences and concerns are similar. Poor social-economic conditions in our countries make life difficult for all. A serious problem is poverty which affects young people in particular. But this does not stop the Christian community from living in hope and nourishing its faith. One promising element for the future is the existence of good relations and reciprocal respect among believers and communities of different faiths and collaboration at times of national crisis."

"Life for refugees is not easy, that fact should be told."

"We have the big challenge of poverty; I mean material poverty. It is a country of tremendous historical riches and values since the time of the apostolic age; peaceful coexistence among the different religions like Christianity with Muslims, and so on. These are great riches which Ethiopia can share with many parts of Africa and the world."