The Local Ordinary of CDTY who doubles as patron of the South Sudanese Catholic institution of higher learning cautions against giving up and encouraged focusing on set goals.
“If we keep moving towards our goal, never quitting, we shall eventually reach it,” he says, and adds, “Perseverance is one of the secrets to success.”
The 59-year-old South Sudanese Bishop who has been at the helm of CDTY since his Episcopal Ordination in June 2008 goes on to underscore the urgent need to address ecological conservation challenges in the light of the May 2015 Encyclical Letter of Pope Francis “on care for our common home”, Laudato Si’.
He says, “There is a recognition of the urgency in addressing the environmental crises of our times and a commitment to join the Laudato Si’ Action Plan that I have repeatedly echoed from our Pope.”
“I need you, our students and staff, to become believers in this,” Bishop Hiiboro says in reference to the call to care for the environment, and adds, “This call to action obliges us not only to care for our common home as a matter of planetary sustainability but also to a sense of God-given stewardship.”
He continues, “Our response to the cry of the poor and the cry of the earth is inextricably linked together.”
Reflecting on the importance of the Student Plenary Assembly, the South Sudanese Catholic Bishop says, “It is a moment of grace, a celebration of hope and a conviction of God’s enduring accompaniment.”
“Like the disciples with Mary in the Upper Room, we were bonded in one common faith, one baptism and one Lord,” he further says, and adds, “Despite our differences, which were many and intense at times, we came together with the best interest of the Church at heart.”
He encourages each Catholic university student at the campus in his Episcopal See to “keep oneself up to the motto of St. John’s Campus Catholic University, Yambio: ‘Aim always high’, as high as the sky to be good citizens and leaders of our beloved Western Equatoria State and South Sudan.”
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.
