Church Leaders in South Sudan Recommit to Working for “peace, justice” Through Action Plan

“We insist once again that conflicts must be resolved through nonviolent means, but we go further and call for a new culture and lifestyle of nonviolence throughout our society, in our government, in our political and military factions, in our communities, in our homes and in our hearts,” SSCC members say.

They reaffirm their “commitment to our Action Plan for Peace that our goal was not only to ‘stop the war’ but also to prevent a new war from springing up.”

Separated from the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC) in 2013 after South Sudan became an independent state from Sudan in 2011, SSCC provides a platform to enhance the spirit of ecumenical cooperation towards collective action for peace in the world’s youngest nation. 

In their April 29 statement, SSCC members “reaffirm the unity of the churches in South Sudan” and add that they once again “identify as the Church of Christ rather than individual churches.”

“We will deepen our efforts for spiritual renewal in our nation and our people,” they say in their collective statement signed by representatives from the Catholic Church, the Episcopal Church of South Sudan (ECSS), the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan and Sudan (PCSS/S), the African Inland Church (AIC), the Sudan Pentecostal Church (SPC), and the South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical Church (SSPEC).

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The Christian leaders acknowledge the positive changes that have taken place since 2015 and express gratitude to all those who have contributed to stop the war, saying, “We thank God that the nationwide war has indeed ceased.”

The war has however been replaced by “widespread violence across the nation”, they say in their April 29 statement, and add, “We are still killing ourselves, and our people are suffering.”

While SSCC members “thank God that peace agreement and the transitional government are now in place”, they “note with sadness the slow implementation of some clauses to which the parties have agreed, the apparent lack of political will amongst many of the signatories, and failure to address the root causes of the conflict.”

The representatives of church leaders in South Sudan also regret that a “number of armed parties have felt unable to sign the R-ARCSS and we support the efforts of the Community of Sant'Egidio and others to achieve a more inclusive agreement.”

The church leaders pledge to “continue our efforts to bring about a lasting just peace in our nation through spiritual renewal, advocacy, dialogue, reconciliation and trauma healing, while encouraging all nonviolent means of bringing about positive change in our society.”

“We will collaborate with all people of good will in this endeavor. We know that peace and justice are God's will, and that in God's good time they will prevail,” SSCC members further say. 

Addressing themselves to the people of God in South Sudan, SSCC members “ask for your prayers, and we offer you our blessing.”

In a recent statement, SSCC members decried 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.”

“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 said in their statement April 11.

Patrick Juma Wani is a South Sudanese journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. Patrick holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication from Makerere Institute for Social Development (MISD) in Uganda. He has over 7 years of extensive experience in leading the development and implementation of media, advocacy, communication and multimedia strategy and operations, with an excellent track record of editorial leadership, budget management, and stakeholder outreach. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.