By Lianne Kolirin
Tens of thousands of people are expected to join a “prayer moment” in South Sudan with Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and the Church of Scotland Moderator, the Rev Dr Iain Greenshields.
Speaking before the three-day visit starting on Friday, Dr Greenshields told the Religion Media Centre that this would be a “crucial moment” during the “peace pilgrimage”.
In 2011, after decades of conflict, South Sudan gained independence from the predominantly Muslim Sudan. Two years later, inter-ethnic conflict spiralled into a civil war that killed 400,000 people. A deal in 2018 reduced, but did not stop, the fighting.
The Pope’s visit was promised during a spiritual retreat at the Vatican in 2019, when South Sudanese political leaders committed to working together. The Pope knelt to kiss the feet of the warring leaders, urging them not to return to civil war. The visit had been scheduled for last summer but was postponed because Francis was unwell.
In an online RMC briefing, Dr Greenshields said: “We are going to meet people very much on the edge and beyond that, but we are also going to be having a prayer moment with about 50,000 to 60,000 people present.
“That will be a crucial moment when all the churches come together along with people from South Sudan. There have been people walking for many days just to be able to be there. We will call upon God to help this young nation to find a way forward together.”
The “pilgrimage” is part of the Pope’s apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan. It is the first papal visit to South Sudan.
Francis said the country had been “racked by years of war” and “longed for an end to the constant violence that forces many people to be displaced and to live in conditions of great hardship”.
Frequent floods have also devastated South Sudan — the world’s youngest country — leading to displacement of thousands of people who have lost their homes, farms and livelihoods. The combination of climate change, war and rising global costs heralds a humanitarian crisis, with an estimated two-thirds of the population facing food insecurity.
Earlier this week, the Archbishop of Canterbury issued a statement saying: “Our visit is a Pilgrimage of Peace. We come as servants — to listen to and amplify the cries of the South Sudanese people, who have suffered so much and continue to suffer because of conflict, devastating flooding, widespread famine and much more.
“Over the past three years and even since July, violence has intensified in many parts of the country. We hope to review and renew the commitments made by South Sudanese leadership at the Vatican in 2019, and the commitments they have made to their people since then.”
The dignitaries will meet President Salva Kiir Mayardit on Friday, as well as other key members of the national authorities and civil society.
The next day they will meet bishops and clergy at the Cathedral of St Theresa in Juba, as well as numerous internally displaced people. There will be an ecumenical prayer at the mausoleum to John Garang (1945-2005), the founding father of South Sudan, and the Pope will return there on Sunday to celebrate mass.
The significance of this visit must not be underestimated, Dr Greenshields said. “This is historic because it’s the first time the Pope and what you might call reformed leaders have worked together doing something since the Reformation,” he told the online briefing.
“We come with that sense of ‘we are together and we are trying to promote, by just our own experience, that people can be together and work together.”
When asked about the involvement of the Church of Scotland, he said: “The Presbyterian church in South Sudan feels a strong connection with Scotland. We are very honoured to be those who have been asked to come.”
Archbishop Samuel Peni of Western Equatoria in Sudan was unable to join the briefing, but said afterwards that the Episcopalian church of South Sudan gives the Archbishop of Canterbury the authority to act as peace broker and believes his presence will be very influential, despite differences over same sex marriage, which are a divisive issue in the country.
He said: “In my opinion, doctrinal issues are different from peace issues. If the Archbishop is spearheading peace making for South Sudan, then there should be no objection nor division”.
Tom Delamare, deputy country representative for the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (Cafod) in South Sudan, told the briefing that organisers hoped the visit would not only focus on reconciliation, but the environment too.
“The communities in South Sudan are on the front line of climate change and it’s a key driver of displacement and food insecurity,” he said.
Lucy Gillingham, of Jesuit Missions, has returned recently from South Sudan which she said had experienced some of the worst flooding in almost 50 years, leading to “millions of people being displaced”.
The effects of the flooding are “much bigger than people can see,” she added, giving an example of children using mosquito nets to fish — and putting themselves at increased risk of malaria.
Christians, primarily Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Presbyterian, account for about three-fifths of South Sudan’s population, which is why this trip is so important, Mr Delamere said. “The church is able to bring those in power around the table and reach across divisions,” he added.
Dr Greenshields said he hoped that the visit might become a “template for further action”, adding: “It speaks to the world in which we live, saying, ‘Look those Christians are together and are speaking with one voice.’ That’s what Jesus would have wanted and what he asked of us.”
View the briefing on our YouTube channel here >>
