Reflecting on the Gospel Reading of Friday (March 14) of the First Week of Lent in which Jesus calls for righteousness that “exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees” and appeals for the fostering of relationships devoid of anger, insults, and judgment, the South Sudanese Cardinal urged Priests in his Metropolitan See to nurture faith in people, making them feel the presence of God in their lives.
“It is unfortunate when religion becomes a tool to oppress people; then that is no more religion, that’s no more Church,” he said, and recalled, “The Pharisees had made religion not to be accessible to other common people; they made it their own; they were experts ... Religion had become the way they ruled people.”
“Jesus is telling us as Priests of this Archdiocese, unless your spirituality is greater than that of the Pharisees, you and I will not enter heaven,” Cardinal Ameyu said, referring to the March 14 Gospel Reading (Matthew 5:20-26).
In his homily, the South Sudanese Catholic Church leader, who has been at the helm of Juba Archdiocese since his Installation in March 2020 emphasized the need for ongoing formation of the Clergy.
In ongoing formation, he said, Priests can recognize the “goodness of God” and improve their relationship with Him.
“If we are not properly related to God, we will see the way of God as unjust. God appreciated the sacrifice of Abel not because his sacrifice was better than Cain’s, but because he gave his heart to God,” Cardinal Ameyu said.
He expressed the hope that the five-day spiritual retreat was a source of renewal and restoration for the Priests, and an opportunity for them to reconfirm their fraternity.
“As we come together, we must recollect where we had gone wrong and renew ourselves. Together we have come to say in your love unite us to live and share our lives as Priests of this Archdiocese of Juba,” the Cardinal whose transfer from Torit Diocese to Juba was met with resistance from a section of the Clergy and Laity of South Sudan’s only Metropolitan See said.
He continued, “Are there grudges that we have against our brothers and sisters? Grudges that we have against our brothers and sisters, especially we Priests, are worse than a layman shouting insults to a Priest because he is outside there, but your brother, if he has grudges against you, it is devastating.”
“There is no way we can live this communion separated, with some on this side and some on the other; all of us must unite in this Church of Christ,” said the South Sudanese Catholic Church leader, who was among the three Africans created Cardinals during the 30 September 2023 Consistory.
