Cardinal in South Sudan Proposes “digital reconciliation” among Young People to End Violent Conflicts in Africa

The July 12 event is the latest in the series of digital palavers that theologians and other experts in Africa have organized to deepen the understanding of the Synthesis Report that came out of the October 2023 session of the multi-year Synod on Synodality. 

More than 180 people participated in the July 12 event that was held on the theme, “The Mission in the Digital Environment”.

Participants in the session described the digital environment as “new frontiers of mission”, requiring everyone in the Church “to burst out” of their comfort zones and be part of the “wounded” humanity as “there are real human faces beyond the digital gadgets.”

Organizers of the palaver expressed concern that the digital divide between Africa is widening, adding that there is also the challenge of “a new form of digital colonialism and idolatry” that they said could “harm Africa.” The danger that they pointed out was “merely consuming digital products” that are not produced in Africa.

In his presentation, Cardinal Ameyu expressed concern that war continues to ravage many countries in Africa, especially Sudan and South Sudan.

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“We are saddened today because many people are dying in the Church of Sudan and South Sudan,” the Cardinal said, and added, in reference to the ongoing civil war in Sudan, “As we speak one city is being attacked with the fiercest weapons of destruction. Drones are being used and many innocent people are being killed in a city called Sennar in Sudan.” 

Acknowledging the important role of technology in improving people’s lives, the South Sudanese Cardinal decried the “enormous destruction” that is being caused by technological advancement.

“In the attack in Sennar people are using advanced technology to kill one another. And it is not just in Sudan or South Sudan. There are wars everywhere,” he said, and added, “While we in Africa are busy destroying ourselves with technology, other people in the world are inventing the means to ease their lives. We have wasted time in wars that have no meaning.”

In his appeal for prayers for the end of fighting that broke out on 15 April 2023  in the North-eastern African country, Cardinal Ameyu said, “What is happening in Sudan and South Sudan is terrible, and I invite all of you to pray for us.”

He said protracted civil war in South Sudan, and the conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and army units of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in Sudan has impeded development in both countries.

“The violence we have in Africa cannot permit us to grow. The violence cannot make us strong as a people. Violence is the worst thing we are experiencing today, and I call on us to root out this vice from the Church,” he said.

Sharing his experience of war in Sudan, and later in South Sudan, Cardinal Ameyu said, “I have grown up in war. I was born in war and I am getting older in war.

He said that in Sudan, religious fundamentalism has become difficult to address, and that many innocent people are dying, and churches destroyed “by people who call for war.”

The Archbishop of Juba lamented the downfall of Sudan, saying that the country had been a beacon of hope for neighbouring South Sudan, which is reeling from decades of war.

“We lived in Sudan and saw it as our hope for a better future. But now, violence has ruined everything. Everyone wants revenge,” he said, and added, “We are going back to the Old Testament of tit for tat and an eye for an eye. In Sudan and South Sudan, we are not living the New Testament.”

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“Let us use the new technologies to bring about change,” he told participants at the PACTPAN palaver, and continued, “You young people in Africa today are better connected. Let us use the digital age to change our lives.”

“I call on young people to start a non-violent movement to bring about peace and good governance,” Cardinal Ameyu said, and added that protests in Africa “should not always be accompanied with destruction of properties and killings.”

Young people present at the palaver shared their experience and that of other African youths in the digital space, noting that many people fear that the danger of addiction to the digital environment has had debilitating consequences on the youths, who are among the adept users. 

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.