Catholic leaders in Africa said Pope Francis’ visit to South Sudan is long awaited and could help push the political players to a settlement. The wider Catholic community in Africa is in a state of frustration over Francis’ decision to cancel and postpone his planned visit to the crises-ravaged nations of Congo and South Sudan after opting to go ahead with his trip to Canada.
Read More(ANALYSIS) Tom Catena, an American Catholic, has worked as a doctor for 14 years in the the Nuba Mountains in Sudan — a desolate, rebel-held area that was bombed repeatedly from 2011 until 2018 by the Khartoum government when Omar al-Bashir was president.
Read MoreA recent shooting of a Catholic bishop highlights the dangers of living in South Sudan and the tenacity of clergy who refuse to leave people behind in the region, even while death threats to Christian leaders there are rising. South Sudan has been trying to implement a new peace agreement in a civil war that’s plagued them since 2011, but their national forces are up against civilian rebel groups with even more gun power. More than 50,000 people have died in war and 4 million forced to relocate since 2013.
Read MoreRenewed fighting between Sudan’s army and militants killed an Anglican priest last week, despite a negotiated peace agreement and the pause of a church-mediated peace process when the Rome-based organization began grappling with coronavirus in Italy. Since 2013, Sudan’s civil war has displaced thousands of civilians. Now they must grapple with displacement during a pandemic and food insecurity.
Read More(COMMENTARY) The Republic of South Sudan is one of the world’s misery portals. Since its independence in 2011, it has known little else but war, poverty, hunger and political infighting among its power elites. South Sudan sought to secede from its northern neighbor, Sudan, in large part over religion. A newly brokered power-sharing agreement could change things for the better. However, those in the international media paying close attention to South Sudan note that we’ve been here before.
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