Scottish Catholic Observer

POPE Francis’ Year of Mercy can help refugees find the strength to forgive says a Sudanese bishop.

Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Daniel Adwok of Khartoum said the Holy Father’s Jubilee of Mercy could help those worst affected by the ongoing civil war in South Sudan find peace through forgiveness.

During the Holy Year Christians are invited to focus on the merciful God and encouraged to reflect on their faith.

“Many of [the refugees] are wounded people, many of them are traumatised people but we want them to live as human beings not as people who can easily advocate revenge or take up arms to fight,” Bishop Adwok (above) said. “I think it is a very great call by the Holy Father and I am sure that people will respond.”

The conflict in South Sudan forced more than 1.5 million people to flee their homes in the 12 months that followed the outbreak of the war in 2011. Entire communities fled to neighbouring Sudan to find a place of refuge in one of the country’s government-controlled refugee camps. Though the camps offer a safer alternative to the violence in the south, Bishop Adwok maintained that life is difficult for the refugees.

As the crisis in South Sudan enters its third year, the likelihood of peace seems further away than ever, the Jesuit Refugee Service reported today.  Although government and opposition forces signed a peace accord last year, a new plan to divide the country into a further 28 states and continued violations of the agreement have perpetuated further violence into 2016. Furthermore, both armed groups continue to scale up their weapon acquisition, leading to the ‘expansion of war,’ according to a recent African Union report.

“Certainly there is no harassment of the Christians staying there but the fact that they are not considered Sudanese means they do not have any rights,” the bishop said. “They do not have anything. You can lose your citizenship at any time.”

Bishop Adwok joined his other bishops from Sudan and South Sudan in Rome last month, during which they were received by Pope Francis and invited to discuss the situation within their dioceses. During the meeting, the Pope stressed the importance of the formation of catechists as many Christians were dispersed throughout the country following the secession of South Sudan.

“Even now there are still parishes and centres that are empty,” Bishop Adwok said. “They don’t have catechists.

“This was among the list of things [Pope Francis] wanted us to make sure the bishops of Sudan and south Sudan understand.”

In an effort to reach the growing number of Christian refugees, four lay ‘missionaries of mercy,’ chosen from each camp, have been given special authority by the Pope to administer to catechise and spread the message of mercy.

Under the new Save the Saveable School Programme in the Khartoum Archdiocese, ACN has helped the children left vulnerable by the conflict.

—www.acnuk.org