The head of the Roman Catholic Church, Pope Francis, Justin Welby of Canterbury who heads the Anglican Communion worldwide, and the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Rev. Dr. Iain Greenshields, are planning to be in Juba between February 3rd to 5th.
The visit is considered essential to supporting a protracted peace process and giving hope to those who are experiencing famine and conflict. “The South Sudanese people embrace the pilgrimage.
The trio’s visit is welcomed with excitement, according to Anglican Bishop Moses Deng Bol of Wau. “We appreciate the global Christian community’s display of unity. We anticipate that it will support the execution of the renewed peace treaty.
The trip, which was initially planned for July, was postponed due to the Pope’s health.
The Pope kissed the feet of feuding leaders in 2019 and pleaded with them not to resume civil war during a retreat in the Vatican.
The impact of that kiss is repeatedly brought up to the leaders’ attention. They are
reminded that due to that gesture, they cannot return to conflict, Bol stated.
Christians make up the majority in South Sudan. They coexist with a tiny Muslim
minority as well as adherents of indigenous African religions.
The bishop claims that the three leaders’ cooperation during the visit demonstrates the
strong ecclesiastical solidarity of South Sudanese churches, which are united by the South Sudan Council of Churches.
The churches play a key role in reconciling the population and promoting peace in addition to providing pastoral care to the communities affected by war and humanitarian help.
The leaders will engage with communities that have been displaced due to flooding,
starvation, and persistent unrest on February 4 in Juba. On February 5, there will be a
united interfaith congregational prayer at the late South Sudan People’s Liberation
Movement/Army leader’s mausoleum, the John Garang Mausoleum, in the city.
The people of South Sudan honor Garang, who perished on July 30, 2005, in a
helicopter crash, as the country’s forefather. The leaders will also interact with municipal
leaders and local church pastors.
South Sudan gained independence in 2011, but the country was only free for two years
before civil conflict broke out. The war is said to have claimed 400,000 lives. Even if the
majority of the fighting came to a stop in 2018, hunger and violence continue to affect the everyday lives of people.
Pope Francis says he is mindful of South Sudan and its people’s call for peace as they
awaited tangible outcomes from the national reconciliation process. The people of
South Sudan is tired of bloodshed and poverty.
According to a press release from the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity on December 1, the Pope stated, “I would wish to participate in that effort, not alone, but by making an interfaith pilgrimage with my two brothers…”Welby stated that they all had a strong desire to support the South Sudanese people and to evaluate and reaffirm the pledges its leaders made at the Vatican in 2019. The archbishop prays that the Holy Spirit will be active both during and after the visit, bringing forth the peace that Christ promises.
Greenshields claims that the leaders will be visiting “as servants of the universal Church
to support the people of South Sudan as they endeavor to give embodiment to Christ’
teachings that ‘blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.”
Pope Francis will be visiting the Democratic Republic of the Congo where deadly militia
conflict is also occurring from January 31 to February 3 before heading to South Sudan.
