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The Archbishop of Juba in South Sudan has called for a shift in burial traditions of people suspected to have died of COVID-19, calling on the citizens in the country to observe minimal contact with the bodies to avoid contagion.
As Muslims celebrate Eid, marking the end of their holy month of Ramadan, the Archbishop of Juba in South Sudan has called on Christians and Muslims in the country to reach out to each other, breaking down barriers erected out of “fear and ignorance.”
The fight against COVID-19 in South Sudan requires an application of stringent measures especially implementing “a total lockdown,” Archbishop Stephen Ameyu of the Archdiocese of Juba has suggested following reports of infections in the family of the country’s first Vice President (VP), Dr. Riek Machar alongside other government dignitaries.
The recently created COVId-19 taskforce for the Archdiocese of Juba in South Sudan will reach out to people at the grassroots, raising awareness about the disease and providing assistance to patients, the Archbishop of Juba told ACI Africa in an interview.
On the occasion of the globe celebration of the International Labor Day marked amid restrictions put in place by governments to contain the COVID-19 pandemic, the Archbishop South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese has called on employers in both public and private sectors to ensure that salaries of employees are paid “at the right time” and that they work with dignity.
One month after the installation of the new Archbishop of South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese, which took place following months of protests characterized by strongly worded letters and threats, the South Sudanese Prelate says he has already started seeing signs of reconciliation and acceptance.
The need for reconciliation in the world’s youngest nation where a government of national unity has recently been put in place was a key highlight of the Easter message of the Archbishop of the country’s only Metropolitan See, Juba Archdiocese. The South Sudanese Prelate described his country as “broken” and in need of “God’s intervention.”
In a keen adherence to the directives of South Sudan government to stop social gatherings as a measure to prevent the outbreak of COVID-19 in the East African country, which is yet to record a case of the deadly virus, the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba has announced the closure of all Catholic-run institutions in the country’s only Metropolitan See.
After months of a standoff pitting a section of the clergy and lay faithful of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba in South Sudan and the Vatican over the Papal transfer of Bishop Stephen Ameyu from Torit to Juba, the new Archbishop was installed Sunday, March 22.
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.
Plans are underway for the installation of the new Archbishop of South Sudan’s Archdiocese of Juba, Stephen Ameyu, with the Vatican and the Bishops in Sudan and South Sudan expressing full support of the event scheduled to take place on Sunday, March 22.
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’ reconfirmation of his earlier appointment of South Sudanese Bishop Stephen Ameyu as the new Archbishop of Juba was expected to put an end to the controversies around politics of succession in the only Metropolitan See of the world’s youngest nation.
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.
As the people of God in South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese await the decision of Pope Francis regarding his earlier transfer of Bishop Stephen Ameyu from Torit diocese to Juba, a Papal decision that was resisted by a section of clergy and laity, a South Sudanese lay faithful has, in a recent letter to ACI Africa, weighed in on the matter, highlighting issues he considers pertinent and making appeals to Church personnel to be obedient to the Vatican.
In a bid to narrow down the gap between the government of South Sudan and the main opposition and form a transitional unity government due February 22 after the latest postponement, the President of the world’s youngest nation February 15 gave in to one of the key demands of the opposition leader, Dr. Riek Machar, reducing the number of States from 32 to 10, a development that Catholic Church leaders have lauded.
Hundreds of Christian women belonging to the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) have, while commemorating their sixth anniversary of prayer for peace in the world’s youngest nation, appealed to children serving as soldiers to withdraw from being actively involved in armed conflict and instead “marry and give birth to children.”
As the combined armed forces of Government and Opposition group kick-start military training as envisaged in the September 2018 Revitalized Agreement on the Resolution of Conflict in South Sudan (R-ARCSS), the Archbishop-elect of South Sudan’s Juba Archdiocese, Stephen Ameyu has called on South Sudanese soldiers to put the past behind and invest in peaceful co-existence through reconciliation.
As the people of God in South Sudan celebrated the Solemnity of Saint Daniel Comboni last Thursday, October 10, Catholics of the Archdiocese of Juba used the occasion both to honour Missionaries for their role in evangelizing Sudan and South Sudan and to renew their commitment of faith in the person of Christ Jesus within the context of the Archdiocesan centenary celebrations.