South Sudan, the nuncio: the faithfulness of a country exhausted but animated by strong consolation

A moving experience, that of accompanying the population through the Christmas celebrations, to bring the Pope’s word and the closeness of the universal Church to the place considered the poorest in the world. The nuncio to South Sudan, Monsignor Séamus Patrick Horgan, recounts his trip last December, from Monday 23 to Friday 27, to the diocese of Malakal, in the north of the country, on the border with Sudan, a region that is still experiencing the destruction caused by the civil war that ended in 2020 and that now faces the arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees fleeing the conflict in Sudan, people who add to the tens of thousands of internally displaced persons who have been living in precarious conditions for years. A land that also suffers frequent flooding. “It is a place,” the archbishop told the Vatican media, “that is suffering the impact of the tragedy taking place in Sudan. I therefore immediately accepted the invitation of the bishop, (Monsignor Stephen Nyodho Ador Majwok ed.) also to bring the closeness of Francis‘ closeness”. The nuncio then took part in the Christmas Mass celebrated in a chapel of the refugee camp located five kilometres from the city, managed by the United Nations, “a very beautiful moment, experienced by about 500 people”, and then went to the celebration in Malakal Cathedral, also crowded with the faithful, “where we took as our first reading for Christmas the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah that speaks of the reconstruction of the city of Jerusalem, to hope, hope and pray also for the reconstruction of Malakal”. The last celebration was on 26 December, St Stephen’s Day, in the parish of Kodok, also in the Upper Nile State, on the west bank of the White Nile.

Grief and faith

‘South Sudan is a country that offers heart-wrenching drama,’ says Horgan, ’but also great examples of faith and perseverance, of trust despite the tragedy. And proof of this is the intense activity of the local Church through, above all, Caritas, run by the Italian Sister Elena Balatti, an example of the many missionaries who, ‘even during the period of war, remained at their post and are still there’, and whose work, alongside the action of the NGOs and the United Nations, is certainly of great support to the population, especially in terms of food aid.

The Christmas message

The South Sudanese people are young, the youngest in the world, who have shown, and still show, as the nuncio recounts, ‘great resistance and resilience, despite having been tried for so many years. In the midst of all challenges a native spirit of joy is always alive in them, which they all demonstrate during the celebrations. Even in difficult circumstances, the joy and loyalty of these people remains. In addition to the drama, therefore, there is also a great consolation, despite the very serious economic crisis that is killing this people, exhausted by the war in Sudan that has halted the export of oil, there is no money, there is no income, we are aware that this people is prostrate’, but that it continues to be accompanied by a great faith that is visible especially at times like Christmas, “whose message is strong, even in the midst of so many difficulties”. Horgan reflects on the absence of international attention, also due to the many conflicts in the world today, hence the importance of the efforts of the local Church, in this case the diocese of Malakal. And the commitment of men and women religious, missionaries and missionaries, is also expressed through the management of schools.

The Holy See’s commitment

Slightly less than two years after Pope Francis’ trip to South Sudan, a country that has also welcomed the Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, and the Prefect of the Dicastery for the Service of Integral Human Development, Cardinal Michael Czerny, several times in recent years, the Pontiff’s word is still alive, a fundamental factor for the work of the nunciature “which will thus be able to build on the impact that the Pope’s visit has had, and still has, its contribution to peacekeeping, first of all, and then to a development drive for the future of this country and the growth of its Church”.

Credits to: VATICAN NEWS (italian)