SOUTH SUDAN: At Easter South Sudanese Prelate Encourages Rekindling Hope Among People of God
Bishop Matthew Remijio Adam Gbtitiku of Wau Diocese, South Sudan
Sr. Jecinter Antoinette Okoth, FSSA
On Easter Sunday as Christians marked the resurrection of Jesus Christ, a South Sudanese Prelate has urged Christians that this Easter season may be a moment to rekindle hope among the people of God in the Church.
In a statement addressed to priests, Religious and lay faithful of Wau diocese in South Sudan, Bishop Matthew Remijio Adam Gbitiku highlighted that, “Easter is the feast of hope for those who yearn for a more dignified life, hope for dialogue and peaceful co-existence among the people of God (and) hope for all those forced to abandon their native lands and are still lacking the bare essentials for living.”
According to the Bishop who was celebrating Easter with the people of Wau Diocese since his episcopal ordination January 24, “Christians believe and know that Christ’s resurrection is the true hope of the world, the hope that never disappoints.”
He observes that it is the power of Christ’s love which “humbles itself and gives itself to the very end that truly renews the world.”
The same power of love he says, continues to bear fruit in South Sudan which is marked by “so many acts of injustices, tribalism and violence,” and it also bears fruits of “hope and dignity where there are deprivation and exclusion, hunger and unemployment.”
In his Easter message shared with AMECEA online, the Local Ordinary of Wau Diocese appealed to those with political responsibility in the country to “always respect human dignity, devote themselves actively to the pursuit of the common good and ensure the development and security of their own citizens.”
He further implored that the Risen Christ may bring “new life to those children who as a result of war and hunger grow up without education and health care, even worse without hope.”
In his Sunday, April 4, Easter message, Bishop Remijio reflects that the resurrection of Christ emphasizes the idea “of seeing the risen Lord as the inauguration of the new era characterized by a new knowledge of God.”
Hence referencing Apostle Peter who was the first to enter into the empty tomb and leads the way “in spite of his slowness,” the Prelate says, “In the Church we have some people who are courageous, slow but capable to lead others like Peter.”
“This diversity reflects the true image of our Catholicity that we all have a role in the Church,” he added.
“May the light of the Risen Christ illumine our consciences and of all Christians people of good will, so that by proclaiming him (Christ) who has risen from death, we become apostles of true peace and reconciliation,” Bishop Remijio a member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) concluded.
