SOUTH SUDAN: The ‘Risen Christ” is our Hope and Peace of South Sudan says Bishop Hiiboro
Though the countries separated, the Catholic Bishops Conference remained one
The President of Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference Barani Rt Rev Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, has asked the people of South Sudan to be inspired by the Resurrection of Jesus by working for Peace in their country.
and President of Sudan and South Sudan Catholic
Bishops Conference (SSCBC)
In his Easter message to the people of South Sudan, issued on 31st, March, 2018, in Yambio, Bishop Hiiboro who is the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio said, “Building Peace can take a Generation, but together, we Can Get It Right.”
While delivering his message, he made the following appeals which he termed as the prerequisites for peace in South Sudan:
- As your Ordinary let me ask you to hold on to the Hope that South Sudan will be stable, prosperous and peaceful again tomorrow. Keep positively fixing that little energy in peace building. If you are tired or blocked, try it again tomorrow.
- To you our government, the oppositions, rebels, warring parties, and all those who count to talking peaceful settlement to South Sudanese dire need for peace to hold on those efforts to achieve peace. If you are tired, blocked, notsatisfied, ignored and so on, never give up but try it again tomorrow.
- To our Government and all those who have arms and all of us the people of South Sudan. Our Faith is grounded in this ‘truth’ we are created in the image of God and life is a gift from God with equal human rights and dignity. More practically our constitution enshrines that all life is sacred, equal and must be protected. No one is allowed to kill the other. Please, lives of our fellow brothers and sisters are being lost irresponsibly. Let us respect and protect life in all forms. Why is so much killings and legal framework to stop? Why? And why so dear South Sudanese?
- Let us all avoid anything which can compromise the standard of human beings. Whatever insults human dignity, such as subhuman living conditions, arbitrary imprisonment, deportation, slavery, prostitution, the selling of women and children, as well as disgraceful working conditions, where men and women are treated as mere tools for profit, rather than as free and responsible persons; all these things and others of their like are very bad indeed. They poison human society, but they do more harm to those who practice them than those who suffer from the injury.
Though the countries separated, the
Catholic Bishops Conference remained one - To both South Sudanese and members of the international communities for genuine peace building I stress and emphasize exclusivity of national processes particularly in advancing nationally owned and led processes and ensuring that the needs of all segments of society are taken into account and best served by an integrated approach based on coherence among political, security, development, human rights, rule of law and justice activities.
- Equally to you the stakeholders, emphasize the importance of focused, well-defined, balanced and sustained support to partnerships to increase efforts towards achieving the objective of sustained and predictable financing for peace-building, in ensuring support to job creation and long-term socio-economic development needs. If there may be seemingly no interesting hearing or attention I urge you to never give up, try again tomorrow!
- In the face of the on-going systematic voices of orders indicating levels of SANCTION on the South Sudan which is nearly in the state of Coma or unconsciousness, Prudent and sincere diplomacy approaches is required, to help us South Sudanese to have honest check-listing, reading out in a straightforward manner our “South Sudanese report cards” in case we come upon so many wrongs, please never give up, let us try again tomorrow!
- In my own experience now for a number of years trying to work on behalf of peace, I can honestly confess that the task of building institutions and other peace-building can take a generation, reasons for relapses into violence can very much vary, but in my thinking, there is one major common thread which is a “trust deficit” in the wake of conflict. In such a situation it is justifiable to employ exclusivity, institution-building and sustained international support which are critical to preventing those relapses. If this does not work to our desired end, please never give up, let us try again tomorrow.
- To you women you have critical role to engage in the effort to build and sustain our once-shattered peace. Because you women know that marginalization, alienation and the culture of exclusive politics are the root causes of conflict. Now in an event in which you may not be listened to as sometimes it does happen, never give up try again tomorrow!
- People of South Sudan, it is equally up to us and entirely us, how would we like South Sudan to be, whom would you like to be called, how would we like to walk, talk, behave, dress, smell, and so on? Remember the dignity of the people is the dignity of the nation. It is up to you not to keep quiet. But let me ask you not to give up, but try again tomorrow!
- Finally, to you young people, can you do something positive with your youthfulness or energy you have to reshape South Sudan into a peaceful nation? Let me ask you just as Pope Francis recently on Palm Sunday asked your colleagues in Rome. What do you think? “Even if others keep quiet, if we older people and leaders – so often corrupt – keep quiet, if the whole world keeps quiet and loses its joy, I ask you: Will you cry out?”
- I have one of the Social Media (Anisa WhatsApp) networks in my diocese, it is our diocesan FM Radio which we call Anisa (meaning we are one). On this WhatsApp account, we have continued to receive several questions from young people, among the many issues they raise, they urge that “we need a church that is welcoming and merciful, which appreciates its roots and patrimony and which loves everyone, even those who are not following the perceived standards.” They point out how many young people are leaving the church. There is a need for a greater sense of community or family as church. They say that the dignity of women should be promoted both in the Church and in wider society raising concerns about “an unclear role of women in the church.” They point out that if it is difficult for young people to feel a sense of belonging and leadership in the Church, it is much more so for young women. They call for more involvement of young people in decision-making within the Church at every level. It is one of these reasons we have in our Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio decided that we convoke our First Diocesan Synod to discern Happy Easter with all the blessings of the Risen Lord!
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