Juba, 18 April, 2022 / 9:00 pm (ACI Africa).
Representatives of the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) want an end to inter-communal violent conflicts in the East-Central African country.
In a recent statement, SSCC members decry the fact that “the country continues to witness several inter-communal fights, often triggered by cattle raids, land grabbing, and child abduction, heightened by ethnic tension and revenge attacks.”
They bemoan the failure, on the part of parties in conflict, to respect “many peace processes and agreements”, particularly in the last three years, from the dramatic gesture of 11 April 2019 when Pope Francis knelt and kissed the feet of President Salva Kiir and opposition leader Dr. Riek Machar among others.
This following the two-day spiritual retreat involving political and ecclesiastical authorities of South Sudan that had been held as a fruit of a proposal by Archbishop Justin Welby to the Holy Father.
“Three years since the Peace retreat visit of our leaders to the Vatican in April 2019, since then, many peace processes and agreements have been developed to restore lasting peace and security in South Sudan,” the representatives of church leaders in South Sudan say in their statement dated April 11.
