Juba, 6 February 2023 (GNP): Pope Francis asked for peace and forgiveness in South Sudan, a country ravaged by war and violence for more than a decade. The 64 tribes in the country are daggers drawn at each other for economic and political leverage in the country system.
Pope Francis made this impassioned appeal in an open-air Mass at the mausoleum of the country’s revolutionary hero, Dr. John Garang, in the capital, Juba, on Sunday. Dr. John Garang was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash in 2005.
It is estimated that more than 100,000 people attended this open-air Mass.
President of South Sudan, Salva Kiir Mayardit, also attended his Mass by Pope Francis.
He implored tribalism, financial looting, mismanagement, and the blind fury of vengeance had already destroyed this country and would continue to maw the country if these bad practices were not stopped by them.
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Pope’s homily was interrupted many times with cheers and slogans by the people attending the Mass.
This six-day visit was the 40th foreign visit of the Pope, while to the African continent was his fifth visit.
In this visit, he is also accompanied by the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, the leader of global Anglican Communion, and Iain Greenshields, the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
This is a rare phenomenon in history that the three leaders of Catholic, Anglican and Reformed traditions conducted a joint ‘peace pilgrimage’ to the African continent.
Earlier, during his stay at Kinshasa, Pope condemned the looting of Africa by the colonizers. The Democratic Republic of Congo has the highest number of Catholics than other African countries.
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In his utmost plea for peace and harmony among them in 2019 at the Vatican, Pope Francis even knelt and kissed the feet of warring leaders of South Sudan for peace in their country.
This trip of Pope Francis to South Sudan will remind the international community of the miserable condition of people as well as press the political and warring leaders to honor the 2018 peace deal.