“Say it the way it is”: Bishop in South Sudan Urges New Clergy to Preach Truth of Gospel

“If you are going to get challenges, you are sharing in the cross of Christ that has become our salvation,” Bishop Lodiong added.

The Catholic Church leader, who has been at the helm of Yei Diocese since he started his Episcopal Ministry in May 2022 encouraged those he was about to ordain to embrace ongoing formation as they carry out their ministry, saying, “We are not ordaining a finished product. It is still a journey.”

He went on to appeal for support, saying, “Let’s pray for these young people, ourselves, and our priests particularly in the Diocese of Yei who are very few running everywhere with little resources in their hands; they have dedicated and offered their life for the service of the Church. Let us support them in their ministry.”

“It is our prayer that with this beginning we will be able to animate and promote in our families more vocations so that young men and women can become fathers and sisters; let us pray for this Diocese,” he further said.

The 52-year-old Catholic Bishop made a particular appeal to members of families to be sources of encouragement to their respective members, who express the desire to serve God in the Church. 

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He said, “It is your responsibility as families to pray, promote, and animate vocations in your families so that young men and young women can be touched by the spirit of the Lord and say yes I am ready to sacrifice and to give my life for the service of the Church.”

“If God offers you and gives you a child, why don’t you be generous also to offer a child to serve God,” Bishop Lodiong said.

Making reference to the parents of those he was to ordain Priest and Deacons, the Local Ordinary of Yei Diocese said, “I want to thank the parents of these young men here. It is not a loss.”

“Let’s continue to protect, guide, and pray for these young men so that they become servants who are anointed and chosen by God,” Bishop Lodiong implored during the October 8 ordination event.

Kerbino Kuel Deng is a South Sudanese journalist who is passionate about Church communication. He holds a Bachelor's Degree in Social Communications from the Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA). He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.