Nairobi, 04 November, 2023 / 9:11 pm (ACI Africa).
Catholic Bishops in Eastern Africa have eulogized the late South Sudanese Bishop Paride Taban who passed on the Solemnity of All Saints as one who was dedicated to the nation’s peace and reconciliation.
The pioneer Local Ordinary of Torit Diocese in South Sudan died while receiving treatment after a long illness in Nairobi, Kenya, at the age of 87.
In a Friday, November 3 statement shared with ACI Africa, members of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences in Eastern Africa (AMECEA) say they take Bishop Taban’s demise “as an opportunity to thank God for giving us such faithful servant to living the Beatitudes ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God (Mt. 5:9)’.”
“Bishop Taban was a great shepherd of Torit Diocese but more so for South Sudan where he dedicated all his life for reconciliation and restoration of peace,” the Bishops say in the statement signed by AMECEA Chairman, Bishop Charles Kasonde of Solwezi Diocese in Zambia.
“His retirement as Bishop of Torit in 2004, at an early age of 68, could not be understood except in the context of his passion for peace which is reflected in his involvement in establishing the Peace Village,” they say.
