{"id":80064,"date":"2023-01-21T16:00:51","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T21:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/"},"modified":"2023-01-21T16:00:51","modified_gmt":"2023-01-21T21:00:51","slug":"south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/","title":{"rendered":"South Sudan bishop: Continuing attacks in the country will not stop the papal visit"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

By Fredrick Nzwili<\/em><\/p>\n

As Pope Francis prepares to travel to South Sudan at the beginning of February, a Catholic bishop in the country has described the visit as \u201cextremely crucial\u201d for peace and stability in the region where deadly interethnic clashes continue to ignite.<\/p>\n

In what is called the Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace, Pope Francis will visit South Sudan\u2019s capital, Juba, along with Archbishop Justin Welby of Canterbury and the Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, from Feb. 3-5. The pontiff will first travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Jan. 31-Feb. 3.<\/p>\n

The leaders had been expressing their desire to visit the world\u2019s youngest nation where Christians are the majority. The country gained its independence in 2011, but a political dispute triggered a deadly conflict barely two years into it. By the time it ended following a peace deal in 2018, an estimated 400,000 people had been killed. While large-scale fighting has ended, deadly interethnic clashes and militia attacks still continue.<\/p>\n

Bishop Stephen Nyodho Ador Majwok of Malakal, South Sudan, said the visit has special significance for him and the faithful, and he expressed distress over the deplorable conditions of the displaced people in the areas hit by clashes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis visit has a great meaning for us. (The) Malakal Diocese is most affected and needs the peace most. So, the visit has a particular meaning to me as the bishop,\u201d the prelate said in a telephone interview Jan. 19.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have just returned from the area where the people are most affected. What they need is peace, so that they can go back,\u201d he said of those that were displaced because of the conflict.<\/p>\n

Bishop Majwok said the country\u2019s people are yearning for peace and stability so that they can move around freely in any part of the country, leave the camps and return to the villages.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have 2 or 3 million people out of South Sudan. They need to come home. These are refugees,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Church leaders in South Sudan say the papal visit will encourage peace and reconciliation, and demonstrate the universal church\u2019s solidarity with the country. It is also expected to encourage political leaders to choose peaceful resolutions.<\/p>\n

The bishop stressed that the fact the apostolic trip is ecumenical also helps in maintaining peace.<\/p>\n

Father John Gbemboyo Joseph Mbikoyezu, the coordinator of the Sudan Catholic Bishops\u2019 Conference, said the preparations for the visit were on schedule, with the renovation of churches and roads complete, choirs prepared and the arrangements to broadcast the visit live being made.<\/p>\n

According to the priest, the pope is on a pilgrimage as a member of the universal church to see the progress of peace.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn other words, it could be a moment of accountability for what the leaders have done in regard to peace,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In a rare and stunning gesture after a retreat at the Vatican in April 2019, the pope knelt and kissed the feet of the leaders of South Sudan\u2019s government and its opposition, as he encouraged them to strengthen the country\u2019s peace process. The pope had asked President Salva Kiir and Reik Machar, a former opposition leader, to proceed with the implementation of a peace agreement they had signed the previous year despite the difficulties.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am asking with my heart,\u201d Pope Francis told them. \u201cStay in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Archbishop Marcel Utembi Tapa of Kisangani, the chairman of the bishops\u2019 conference in the DRC, which the pope will visit just four days ahead of South Sudan, is a great opportunity for the people of faith to meet the pontiff, a spiritual leader not only for Catholics but also other Congolese people.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pope comes to encourage us. We hope his words will move us toward unity, peace and security. That\u2019s how we see it,\u201d said the archbishop.<\/p>\n

In both countries red security flags have been raised because of serious threats such as the attack on a Pentecostal Church in Kasindi in eastern DRC Jan. 15. The Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack, which left at least 17 people dead and another 60 injured.<\/p>\n

Archbishop Tapa condemned the attack, urging people to be more vigilant, asking for international help, and crying out to the militias to drop their arms. \u201cThey cannot continue killing, and taking life, which is a gift from God,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

At the same time, Archbishop Tapa said the continuing attacks in the east of the country will not stop the papal visit.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Credit: Source link<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Fredrick Nzwili As Pope Francis prepares to travel to South Sudan at the beginning of February, a Catholic bishop in the country has described the visit as \u201cextremely crucial\u201d for peace and stability in the region where deadly interethnic clashes continue to ignite. In what is called the Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace, Pope Francis […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":80065,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[90],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nSouth Sudan bishop: Continuing attacks in the country will not stop the papal visit - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"South Sudan bishop: Continuing attacks in the country will not stop the papal visit - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Fredrick Nzwili As Pope Francis prepares to travel to South Sudan at the beginning of February, a Catholic bishop in the country has described the visit as \u201cextremely crucial\u201d for peace and stability in the region where deadly interethnic clashes continue to ignite. In what is called the Ecumenical Pilgrimage of Peace, Pope Francis […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/World-Catholic-News-109605280463871\/?modal=admin_todo_tour\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-21T21:00:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/RecordIcon.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"427\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"429\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Worldcatholicn1\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"4 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/\",\"name\":\"WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/#primaryimage\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/RecordIcon.jpg\",\"width\":427,\"height\":429},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/\",\"name\":\"South Sudan bishop: Continuing attacks in the country will not stop the papal visit - WORLD CATHOLIC NEWS\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/#primaryimage\"},\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-21T21:00:51+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-21T21:00:51+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/south-sudan-bishop-continuing-attacks-in-the-country-will-not-stop-the-papal-visit\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/491272a1cdc8eb55245d48e5044377c8\",\"name\":\"NEWS DESK\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/#personlogo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/f27f47f91f7d6f43179d283d82de5681?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"NEWS DESK\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80064"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=80064"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/80064\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/80065"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=80064"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=80064"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldcatholicnews.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=80064"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}