Pope Francis this Saturday asked South Sudan’s leaders for “a new push” for peace in the region divided by power struggles and extreme poverty as part of his visit to the country.
Accompanied by the heads of the Churches of England and Scotland, representatives of the other two Christian confessions in the world’s youngest state, Francis said on Friday that the “snaking road” of peace “can no longer be postponed”, during a highly political speech to the capital’s authorities.
From 2013 to 2018, this country of 12 million people was ravaged by a bloody civil war between supporters of two enemy leaders, Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, that killed 380,000 people.
Despite a peace deal signed in 2018, violence continues and the In December, the country had 2.2 million internally displaced people due to conflict and flooding.according to figures from the United Nations.
Francis today told religious men and women in South Sudan, where he arrived Friday, that their first duty is to join hands with these suffering people, at a meeting he held with the clergy at Santa Teresa Cathedral , in the capital Mane. .
The pope encouraged bishops, priests and nuns to serve the people and gather their tears in a country beset by conflict and humanitarian crises.
Today the Argentine pope, very active in defending migrants, will meet some displaced people.
About 4,000 people gathered very early, according to authorities, to wait in the courtyard of Santa Teresa Cathedral for the pope, many waving national flags, in a festive atmosphere.
“We came here to receive your blessing. Everything is a matter of peace. Pope Francis can’t even walk, but he still comes here to cheer on our leaders,” 24-year-old John Makuei told Agence France-Presse (AFP), who arrived before dawn so as not to miss “this historic day” .
The pope arrived in South Sudan on Friday as part of a visit that also took him to the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Source: DN
