Pope's envoy in South Sudan in pursuit of
peace-building
(Vatican Radio) Pope
Francis has sent a special envoy to South Sudan to
urge for an end to violence in the country and to help establish dialogue and
trust between the warring parties.
Cardinal Peter Turkson, president of the Pontifical Council for Justice and
Peace, travelled to the capital Juba this week to give support to the
Archbishop and to meet with the country’s leaders.
He carried with him a letter
from the Pope for President Salva Kiir and one for Vice President Riek Machar
who are historic enemies and represent the different ethnic groups.
For almost a year, South
Sudan has been trying to emerge from a civil war caused by political rivalry
between the Vice President and the President. Violent clashes across the
city have left tens of thousands of people dead since December 2013 and a
recent flare-up of fighting has caused more casualties, scores of displaced
people and a serious humanitarian crisis.
Although a cease-fire is
currently in effect in Juba, the threat of more violence continues to loom
large.
Vatican Radio’s Linda
Bordoni asked Cardinal Turkson to illustrate the current situation and
talk about the Church’s effort to push forward a peaceful process.
Cardinal Peter Turkson says
he arrived in Juba last Sunday early enough to celebrate Mass with the
faithful, the Archbishop, the priests and the religious.
“To put it mildly: the
situation is tough” he says.
He says the violence which
flared on the 5th anniversary of the country’s independence recurs
intermittently between the warring forces causing a lot of deaths.
And, he explained, it is also
very hard on the civilian population who flee the violence to save their lives
leaving their homes to be looted. occupied or destroyed.
“A lot of the women and
children and even boys have sought refuge in Churches and in schools – and that
is where they live – and the priests and brothers and nuns try to take care of
them as best as they can” he says.
But Turkson says the
situation is desperate and security levels are low.
He says the authorities he
has met with have promised to do their best to put a programme of reform on
course towards elections in 2018.
Turkson explains that the
process has been derailed by recent events but the President maintains the
course can be resumed.
“We brought them the
greetings of the Pope, his solidarity, two letters he had addressed to the
President and to the Vice President – the two protagonists of the conflict” he
says.
The Cardinal says his own
effort was “to try to get them to come together at some point, to see if we
could facilitate a reconciliation, to help them build some trust and confidence
in each other”.
Turkson also speaks of the
urgent need for help and says he has already contacted Cor Unum in Rome to see
what assistance can be organized in terms of medication.
He explains that the
displaced population is living in the open and in classrooms and are victims of
mosquito bites so there is malaria, dysentery, “there’s even talk about cholera
in some areas”.
“So there’s a need for
medication and there’s a need for food supplies” he says.
Cardinal Turkson concludes
expressing his hope that upon his return to Rome later this week it will be
possible to send some concrete aid back to the archbishop “as a help from the
side of the Holy See”.
(Linda Bordoni)
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