Pope Francis: peace, light, and
hope are possible in South Sudan
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| Pope Francis addresses leaders of South Sudan at conclusion of spiritual retreat |
At the Casa Santa Marta, Pope Francis kisses the feet of
leaders from South Sudan, including President, Salva Kiir Mayardit, and vice
president designates Riek Machar and Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabio.
By Vatican News
A remarkable, spontaneous gesture. Breaking protocol, at the
conclusion of his remarks at the end of the spiritual retreat, Pope Francis
fell to his knees, kissing the feet of South Sudan’s civil authorities.
“To the three of you who signed the Peace Agreement, I ask
you, as a brother, remain in peace”, the Pope said. “I ask you from the heart.
Let us move forward. There will be many problems, but don’t be afraid, go
forward, resolve the problems”. In impromptu remarks following his address,
Pope Francis said, “You have started a process; may it end well. Although
struggles will arise, he said, these should stay “within the office”. However
in public, he said, “before the people: [keep your] hands united”. In this way,
the Pope said, “from simple citizens, you will become Fathers of the Nation”.
In his prepared remarks, the Holy Father reflected on
"the gaze of God", and "the gaze of the people". He began
his address with the words used by the risen Lord to greet his “disconsolate
disciples”, following the resurrection: “Peace be with you!”
“Peace is the first gift that the Lord brought us”, he said,
“and the first commitment that leaders of nations must pursue. Peace is
the fundamental condition for ensuring the rights of each individual and the
integral development of an entire people”.
The gaze of God
The Pope continued by reflecting on the unique nature of the
meeting in the Vatican: a “spiritual retreat…marked by interior recollection,
trusting prayer, deep reflection and encounters of reconciliation”. Pope
Francis defined the purpose of the retreat as one of “standing together before
God and discerning His will”. He reminded the civil and ecclesiastical
authorities present of their “enormous shared responsibility for the present
and future of the people of South Sudan”, and of how God will ask us “to render
an account not only of our own lives, but the lives of others as well”.
Every spiritual retreat, said the Pope, should make us feel
like we are standing before “the gaze of the Lord…who is able to see the truth
in us and to lead us fully to that truth”.
Pope Francis then retold the story of how “Jesus gazed upon
Peter”, first telling him to “carry out his plan of salvation for his people”.
This, the Pope called a gaze of “election”, or “choosing”.
The second time Jesus gazed on Peter was after Peter had
denied the Lord three times, on Holy Thursday. This was the gaze that “touched
Peter’s heart and brought about his conversion”, said the Pope.
Finally, after the resurrection, “Jesus once more fixed His
gaze on Peter and asked him three times to declare his love”. That was when He
again entrusted Peter “with the mission of shepherding His flock”.
“Jesus’ gaze rests, here and now, on each of us”, continued
Pope Francis. “It is very important to meet this gaze” and to ask ourselves:
“What is my mission and the task that God entrusts to me for the good of His
people?”.
Jesus has “put great trust in us by choosing us to be His
co-workers in the creation of a more just world”, said the Pope. His gaze
penetrates the depths of our hearts: “it loves, transforms, reconciles and
unites us”.
The gaze of the people
Pope Francis then spoke of “another gaze”: that of the
people, a gaze that “expresses their ardent desire for justice, reconciliation
and peace”. The Pope expressed his “spiritual closeness” to refugees and the
sick. He remembered “all those who have lost their loved ones and their homes,
to families that were separated and never reunited, all the children and the
elderly, the women and men who have suffered terribly on account of the
conflicts and violence that have spawned so much death, hunger, hurt and
tears”. “I think constantly of these suffering souls”, said Pope Francis, “and
I pray that the fires of war will finally die down, so that they can return to
their homes and live in serenity”.
Peace is possible
“I shall never tire of repeating”, said the Pope, that “peace
is possible!” Peace, he said, is a “great gift of God”, but it is also “a
supreme duty on the part of those with responsibility for the people”. All of
us are called to be peacemakers, he said, to “build peace through dialogue,
negotiation and forgiveness”. People are exhausted by conflicts, said Pope
Francis. “Remember that with war, all is lost!”
The Pope then referred to the peace agreement signed by the
highest political representatives of South Sudan last September. He
congratulated the signatories of that document for having “chosen the path of
dialogue”, for their “readiness to compromise”, and for their “determination to
achieve peace”.
The Pope also praised the “various ecumenical initiatives of
the South Sudan Council of Churches on behalf of reconciliation and peace, and
care for the poor and the marginalized”. He recalled his recent meeting in the
Vatican with the Bishops’ Conference of Sudan and South Sudan during
their ad limina visit. The Pope said he was struck by their
optimism and concern for the many political and social difficulties in the
region.
A final prayer
Pope Francis confirmed his hope and desire “that soon, by
God’s grace”, he would be able to visit South Sudan, together with the
Archbishop of Canterbury, and the former Moderator of the General Assembly of
the Church of Scotland.
The Pope then concluded his meditation with a prayer, in
which he asks God the Father: “to touch with the power of the Spirit the depths
of every human heart, so that enemies will be open to dialogue, adversaries
will join hands and peoples will meet in harmony… May the whole-hearted search
for peace resolve disputes”, prayed the Pope, “may love conquer hatred and may
revenge be disarmed by forgiveness”.
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