SUDAN/SOUTH SUDAN: Bishops on Ad Limina Visit to Vatican

ROME, AUGUST 28, 2018 (CISA)-Sudan and South Sudan Conference of Catholic Bishops are in Rome for their Ad Limina visit scheduled for August 24 to September 7.

They will also have an extraordinary meeting from today Tuesday, August 28 to August 30 before having an audience with Pope Francis on September 3.

“We will be discussing the big questions that face us as a church in the Sudan and South Sudan, the questions of absence of peace with persisting sufferings,” reads a statement signed by the Chairman of the Conference, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala.

According to the statement released on August 24 the bishops will during their visit “…Celebrate Mass and pray for our dioceses, our countries to have peace and renew our spiritual connection and our spiritual commitment to the work of the Apostles.”

In their statement, the bishops also called upon the leaders in South Sudan to heed to Pope’s call for peace by respecting and abiding by the provisions of the agreement and above all foster political will so as to enable implementation of the final peace agreement once it is signed.

“All the stakeholders should fully be committed to making sure this time round the desired peace should not be lost and those who are seen to be working against peace and or violating its provisions are held to account,” their statement reads.

They urged the international partners involved in the quest for peace to remain committed in the process till the final stage for peace implementation.

Although the Ad Limina apostolorum visits are usually scheduled once every five years, theirs comes 9 years since their last visit in 2009 due to what they say are special reasons.