By Paschal Norbert
JUBA, AUGUST 15, 2023 (CISA)- His Eminence Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican Secretary of State has arrived in Juba from Angola to begin his four-day visit to the country on August 14, 2023.
The Vatican Secretary of State who was received at the Juba International Airport by Archbishop Hubertus Maria van Megen, the Apostolic Nuncio to Kenya and South Sudan, the Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs Hon Deng Dau, Cardinal-elect Stephen Ameyu Martin, the Archbishop of Juba, Bishop Santo Loku Pio, the Auxiliary Bishop of Juba and several Clergy, met with President Salva Kiir of South Sudan later in the day on Monday, August 14.
According to a press release by the office of the president of the Republic of South Sudan, Cardinal Parolin delivered a message of goodwill from Pope Francis.
In a presser immediately after meeting the president, acting Foreign Affairs Minister Hon Deng Dau Deng said the meeting discussed a wide range of issues relating to the peace implementation and the country’s preparation for the 2024 General Elections.
Parolin on the other hand, accompanied by Archbishop van Megen and Msgr Ionut Paul Strejac, the Charge’ de’ Affaires of the Apostolic Nunciature in Juba, stated that he had a cordial and fruitful discussion with the president while stressing the historic visit by Pope Francis in February.
The Vatican Secretary of State called on the people of South Sudan to embrace the spirit of peace and reconciliation to build a harmonious society in the country. He later planted trees with the ecumenical youth and children in Juba as a symbol of continued commitment to peace and solidarity with South Sudan.
According to the Sudan-South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, the visit by Cardinal Parolin is also in response to an invitation extended to him by the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Malakal, Rt Rev. Stephen Nyodho Ador in 2022 when he visited Bentiu. He is expected to celebrate mass with the Internally Displaced Persons in Malakal and the returnees who fled the conflict in Sudan.
The visit is expected to last for two days in Malakal and it will be a chance to meet the Church personnel, State Authorities, and to have an encounter with the Christians and the civil population in Malakal including the people who are fleeing from the war in Sudan.
From Malakal, Cardinal Parolin will wind up his trip with a brief visit to the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek in Lakes State on Thursday, August 17, and thereafter depart for Rome.
