The highest representative of the Vatican arrived in South Sudan on February 3 for an unprecedented “pilgrimage of peace” together with Anglican and Scottish Presbyterian counterparts. However, the eve of his visit was overshadowed by a new outbreak of violence in the state of Central Equatoria, which left 27 dead. Despite a peace agreement in 2018, violence and famine continue to plague the young African country, which gained independence from Sudan in 2011.
South Sudan, a country plagued by wars and famine, is today the scene of an unprecedented meeting.
Pope Francis arrived this Friday, February 3, in the youngest nation in the world, which lives in a continuous spiral of violence, despite the fact that in 2018 he signed a peace agreement with Sudan, from which it became independent in 2011, but with which it exploded. a civil war in 2013.
With years of stalling on an effective implementation of the agreement, hostilities remain ongoing.
“I beg you, with all my heart, to accept four simple words: not my words, but Christ’s. ‘Enough of this!’ (…) No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence and mutual recriminations over who is responsible,” said the Supreme Pontiff in his first speech, before an audience that included President Salva Kiir and other government figures.
The Pope’s words take on special relevance after the eve of his arrival, 27 people died in Central Equatoria, where Juba, the country’s capital, is located.
The events were recorded due to a confrontation between cattle herders and a local militia.
However, Francis’ requests could begin to bear their first fruits. This Friday, and during his statements before the Pope, President Kiir promised that he will resume talks with the armed groups that did not sign the peace agreement more than four years ago.
The president pronounced those words while referring to one of the acts of Francis most remembered by the Sudanese. In April 2019, during a meeting at the Vatican, the pontiff knelt to kiss the feet of South Sudanese leaders, at which point he urged them not to return to civil war.
“It was not in vain,” Kiir remarked on February 3 about the gesture that the Pope had.
Subsequently, the Pope held a private meeting with the president at the Presidential Palace, before delivering a speech before other authorities, diplomats and representatives of civil society.
There, Francisco also referred to the need to combat corruption and the inequitable distribution of the nation’s abundant natural resources, such as oil.
“We undertake this ecumenical pilgrimage of peace after listening to the plea of a whole people who, with great dignity, weep for the violence they suffer, their persistent insecurity, their poverty and the natural disasters they have experienced,” added the religious leader.
According to a United Nations report, issued in 2021, this country has some of the largest oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, but huge amounts of its revenue have been diverted from public coffers. However, the Sudanese government rejects the accusations.
An unprecedented “pilgrimage of peace”
From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Francis arrived in Juba, the capital of South Sudan, the second and final stage of his African pilgrimage, for what the Vatican calls an unprecedented “pilgrimage of peace.”
Although the visit is headed by the pontiff, for the first time Francis is also accompanied by the leader of the Anglican Church, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields.
The three leaders thus represent the main religious traditions active in the nation, with a predominantly Christian population.
Thousands of people sang and played drums, under 35 degrees Celsius temperature when the pontiff was received by the president, Salva Kiir, at the international airport in Juba, the capital.
People line the streets hoping to see Pope Francis as he arrives in South Sudan for an unprecedented joint ‘pilgrimage of peace’ with his Anglican and Scottish Presbyterian counterparts https://t.co/xrFU59l9u5
— Reuters (@Reuters) February 3, 2023
But the welcome to Francisco was perceived beyond the air terminal. Huge crowds of Christian, Muslim worshipers and traditional dancers waved flags of the Vatican, South Sudan, Scotland and the United Kingdom on the roads of the capital. Some of them even wore T-shirts with the Pope’s photograph.
Along the way to the presidential palace, where the pope continued with a meeting with the president and other officials, thousands of citizens crowded to watch him while urging peace in their country.
“I want to receive blessings from the Pope and also from God. I am also seeking peace for South Sudan now that the Holy Father is visiting us,” said John Banga, 27, a Catholic Juba resident who was in the crowd. The papal visit undoubtedly emerges as a sign of encouragement for this nation.
In addition to encouraging the stalled implementation of the peace process, amid continued clashes, Francis urged international aid due to humanitarian difficulties.
The situation is getting worse and worse, with a population experiencing one of the most serious food crises in the world, as reported by international organizations such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Oxfam.
With Reuters, AP and EFE
