Bishops welcome Sudan peace agreement, ask for support
NAIROBI, Feb 26, 2005 (Catholic Information Service for Africa) — Sudanese Catholic bishops have welcomed the recently signed peace agreement between the Government of Sudan (GoS) and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A), but called on Sudanese nationals to support their leaders in implementing the Agreement and ensuring a sustainable peace.
“We, the Catholic Bishops of Sudan, meeting in our extraordinary session during these first days of the interim period of the peace process, take this occasion to invite our Christian faithful and all people of good will to join us in thanking God for bringing us this far in our efforts to work towards acquiring a just and lasting peace for all Sudanese,” they said in a statement sent to CISA.
The statement, made public on February 26, 2005, at Rosa Mystica Spiritual Center in Nairobi, Kenya, is signed by, among others, Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro, Archbishop of Juba and President of Sudanese Catholic Bishop’s Conference (SCBC).
The bishops issued guidelines to be followed by the people of the Sudan and their government to nurture and turn their vision of Sudan into a reality: “The Lord has seen the suffering of our people, heard their cry and has come to rescue them (Exodus 3:7-8).”
They urged the government to offer the freedom of conscience, of religion, worship, expression, assembly and of movement as major prerequisites for the government to sustain the peace.
“Equal opportunity education for employment access to economic resources and land should be accorded and guaranteed for each and every citizen, regardless of his/her tribe, ethnic origin, religion or gender, they said in their statement.
To achieve this, the bishops called on the government to set up a just and independent legal and judicial system free from any form of political manipulation and interference.
“In Darfur, the continued military action makes us mindful of the suffering of the thousands of innocent civilians,” they said. “We call upon the GoS to do all in its power to bring the conflict to a speedy end. We further call upon the GoS and local authorities to prevent armed militias and nomads in other parts of the country from causing further upheaval to the people and destruction of their homes and livelihoods, thus contributing to the humanitarian crisis.”
They urged all the people of their country to be truthful and forgiving to one another, as that is the only recipe for peace.
“We continue to place all our hopes and endeavours to build a just and lasting peace under the special intercession of Sts Josephine Bakhita and Daniel Comboni, and the protection of Mary our Mother, as we entrust our future to the Lord and ask His special blessing on our peace process,” they concluded.