As fears of a return to full-scale war in South Sudan escalate, Catholic bishops in the country have reiterated their call for peace and dialogue, amid fighting and mobilisation in parts of the country. Source: OSV News.
Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla of Juba, president of the Sudan and South Sudan Bishops Conference, said the security and humanitarian situation in the country had deteriorated rapidly, as he pointed at the renewed fighting between government forces and the Sudan Peoples’ Liberation Army in Opposition and other armed groups in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria states.
In a statement on Tuesday, the cardinal urged “all the leaders in the Unity Government and the non-signatories to the revitalised peace agreement to stop war and embrace dialogue, listen to one another and to the people you claim to fight for their sake”.
“The citizens are not properties, they are human beings and it will be good to know their pains, hunger for peace, and their desire to live in freedom,” Cardinal Mulla said.
Quoting Pope Francis’ message to the people of South Sudan, where the late pontiff called for “no more war” and “no more bloodshed,” the cardinal said: “We are coming again with urgency to reiterate our appeal for dialogue, unity, peace and reconciliation.”
South Sudan gained independence in 2011, but in 2013, the world’s youngest nation descended into a brutal civil war that killed nearly 400,000 people and forced millions out of their homes.
The Revitalised Agreement on the Resolution of the Conflict in South Sudan, signed in 2018 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, ended countrywide fighting and allowed the formation of a transitional government.
Pope Francis had a role in bringing together warring sides of the conflict.
On April 12, 2019, Francis famously knelt and kissed the feet of South Sudan’s political leaders at the end of a spiritual retreat at the Vatican.
Many of the 2018 pact’s commitments, including general elections and reforms in national security, were never implemented.
Now, the Catholic bishops are concerned that the pact is being disregarded and dialogue sidelined.
“As shepherds and leaders in this country, we are alarmed and surprised by the total disregard for the full implementation of the revitalised peace agreement,” said Cardinal Mulla, after the bishops raised concerns twice in 2025 that the pact is not being implemented properly.
“The growing discord within the Unity Government, attacks and counter attacks between the warring parties in many parts of the country is spreading rapidly causing displacements, hunger, and many other inhuman conditions,” the cardinal warned
FULL STORY
South Sudan bishops warn of genocide, plead for peace as fears of a full-scale war grow (By Fredrick Nzwili, OSV News)
