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The story of those protesting against Pope Francis’ transfer of Bishop Stephen Ameyu from South Sudan’s Torit diocese to Juba Archdiocese seems to have received significant media coverage. There seems to be no evidence that the narrative of those at home with the planned change of guard in the Archdiocese has been given media visibility.
The controversy surrounding the appointment of South Sudanese Bishop Stephen Ameyu as the new Archbishop of Juba took a curious twist earlier this week when Archbishop Emeritus, Paolino Lukudu Loro not only broke his silence through a press statement but also spoke to journalists, accusing the Vatican of forcing the Archbishop elect on the people.
The South Sudanese Juba-based priest who was attacked by a group of Catholic youth protesting the appointment of a new Archbishop has, in an interview with ACI Africa, shared about the Sunday, March 8 episode saying he has no grudge with the youth and that they might have been misguided and “manipulated by someone.”
Pope Francis has reconfirmed his earlier appointment of Bishop Stephen Ameyu of South Sudan’s Torit Diocese as the new Archbishop of the only Metropolitan See in the world’s youngest nation and announced the date of his installation, a move that seems to put an end to controversies around politics of succession in the Archdiocese of Juba.
The leadership of the Bari community in South Sudan has, in a letter, responded to critics who have termed members of the indigenous of Juba tribalists following letters signed by individuals belonging to the tribe, including some clergy of the Archdiocese of Juba, opposing the appointment of a non-Bari to head the Metropolitan see.
Several days after letters expressing rejection of a Papal transfer of a Bishop in South Sudan emerged, the heads of dioceses in Sudan and South Sudan constituting the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SCBC) have thrown their weight behind the Holy Father and his representatives in the world’s youngest nation and expressed regrets “with great humility the inappropriate language used” in two defamatory letters.