“As we bid farewell to this great pillar of our society, we recommit ourselves to carrying forward his torch of peace and unity in South Sudan,” Mrs Nyandeng said.
Credit: Radio Bakhita
John Ashworth, a lay missionary from England eulogized late Bishop Taban as “a humble, wise and holy man who lived and breathed peace, forgiveness and reconciliation.”
“He was also a personal friend and mentor for the best part of forty years,” Ashworth told ACI Africa Thursday, November 2.
On their part, members of the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) have extended their “heartfelt condolences to the family of Bishop Paride and the entire Christian denomination across the country for the unfortunate demise of the most important figure in the history of the country.”
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In a November 1 statement, they described Bishop Taban Bishop as “embodying excellence and was a figure of peace during the struggles and beyond.”
Born in Katire in 1936, the late Bishop Taban was ordained a Priest in May 1964.
Credit: Radio Bakhita
In January 1980, he was appointed Auxiliary Bishop of Juba Archdiocese and assigned the Titular See of Tadamata.
The late South Sudanese Catholic Bishop was appointed first Bishop of Torit in July 1983. Owing to the Sudan war, the South Sudanese Clergy would occasionally flee to other countries, including Uganda, Kenya, and the Central African Republic (CAR). Nevertheless, he spent most of his time in the SPLA-controlled areas of South Sudan, also called “liberated territories”, and operated from Narus in Eastern Equatoria State of South Sudan. He also reached out to the people of God in other Catholic Dioceses, where Bishops were trapped in government-controlled townships and could not access large parts of their own Episcopal Sees.
Bishop Taban retired from the administration of Torit Diocese in 2004 and proceeded to complete the establishment of the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Kuron, an initiative he had founded in 2000.
According to the information that is provided on the website of the Peace Village, Bishop Paride established the project in Kuron “to unite the population in the area and set an example of peaceful cohabitation in war-torn South Sudan,”
Kuron Peace Village is situated in Eastern Equatoria State, the Southeastern part of South Sudan that borders Kenya and Uganda. Here, different ethnic groups live and work together in the village.
In a message shared with ACI Africa during his 40th Anniversary as Bishop, late Bishop Taban recalled the reason behind the Peace Village, saying, “I have been dreaming of a community where people with different ethnicities and different religious backgrounds can live side by side with confidence, in harmony and fellowship.”
Late Bishop Taban has received awards for his work at the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Kuron, including the Sergio Vieira de Mello Peace Prize awarded by former UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon.
Bishop Taban who was the first leader of the New Sudan Council of Churches (NSCC) also won the Hubert Walter Award for Reconciliation and Interfaith Cooperation given by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, for co-founding the ecumenical body, building Kuron Peace Village and chairing the mediation initiative between the Government of South Sudan and COBRA Faction of the South Sudan Democratic Movement/Army.
The late South Sudanese Catholic Bishop has been lauded for promoting a healthy lifestyle through participating in exercises anchored on peacebuilding.
Following the news of the Bishop’s demise, South Sudanese have taken to social media to mourn him and condole with the people of God in Torit Diocese.
“You taught many across the country and the world at large to be in unity, love and indeed your legacy lives on for generations to come. Rest well with the angels in heaven your Lordship Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban,” members of the Missionary Choir-Juba South Sudan say in a Facebook post.
In a Facebook post, the Archbishop of Canterbury says, “I’m saddened to learn of the passing to glory of retired Bishop Paride Taban on All Saints Day 2023.”
“It was an honor to meet him in his quest for peace in his beloved South Sudan, both among leaders and the people, at the national and community level,” Archbishop Justin Welby says.
Credit: CRN
He adds, “Bishop Paride’s unique Peace Village provided a venue for rival groups to work close-up at their differences and solve many of them. It was my honor in 2017 to present him the Hubert Walter Award for his peacebuilding efforts and the promotion of the education of boys and girls. “
“I pray for Bishop Paride’s family, all who loved him, and for the people of South Sudan who he served in Christ’s name. May he rest in peace and rise in glory,” Archbishop Welby implores.
Fr. George Both writes in a Facebook post, “Our Mother Church in South Sudan and Sudan, our universal Church, and our entire nation has lost a great man of God, and a true icon of peace Bishop Emeritus Paride Taban.”
He adds, “You have gone to be with the Lord on the Solemnity of All the Saints day because you were a true living Saint among your own people.”
ACI Africa was founded in 2019. We provide free, up-to-the-minute news affecting the Catholic Church in Africa, giving particular emphasis to the words of the Holy Father and happenings of the Holy See, to any person with access to the internet. ACI Africa is proud to offer free access to its news items to Catholic dioceses, parishes, and websites, in order to increase awareness of the activities of the universal Church and to foster a sense of Catholic thought and culture in the life of every Catholic.
Late Bishop Paride Taban. Credit: Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC)
Late Bishop Paride Taban. Credit: Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC)
