Violence in South Sudan during Lent “grieves” Ailing Pope Francis: Apostolic Nuncio

He urged the people of God in South Sudan to give the Holy Father “the gift of seeing South Sudan at peace”, and “the consolation of a country that turns the page away from violence as a political weapon.”

“We can give him (Pope Francis) the comfort of seeing this country, for which he has such “affection and concern”, embracing a definitive and enduring peace, by means of reconciliation,” the Irish-born Vatican diplomat said. 

South Sudan has been experiencing rising tensions that escalated to the killings of dozens of troops in an evacuation process on March 7, Friday after Ash Wednesday.

In the incident, a United Nations helicopter that was attempting to evacuate South Sudanese soldiers came under fire near the town of Nasir in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State.

The troops were reportedly being evacuated from heavy clashes between South Sudanese forces and the White Army militia, a group which President Salva Kiir’s government has linked to forces loyal to his rival and First Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar.

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The attack comes amid ongoing instability in Upper Nile State, which has reportedly faced months of clashes and insecurity.

In his March 9 homily, the Apostolic Nuncio in South Sudan said he finds it regrettable that the country is experiencing violent attacks, especially during the Lenten Season, which he said defined by the urgent call to conversion.

“We have entered the Season of Lent, the Church’s season of penance and conversion. It is also a season of combat; spiritual Combat!” he said.

“But, alas, alas this year, Ash Wednesday saw another kind of combat. Our country was plunged once again into bloody fighting,” he said.

Archbishop Horgan added, in reference to the violence in South Sudan, “It is a tragedy that the Season of Lent should start in this way! It is deplorable that lives have been needlessly lost, as we begin what should be a season of spiritual renewal.”

The representative of the Holy Father in South Sudan appointed to the country in May 2024 cautioned Christians in the world’s newest country against engaging in violent combat.

“Lent is a season of conversion and spiritual renewal. We must start by converting from the violence that can destroy us!” he said, and added, “Let everyone who calls himself Christian renounce the arms of war and violence this Lent and take up the spiritual weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving!”

Recalling the message of Pope Francis when he realized his ecumenical visit South Sudan in February 2023, the Apostolic Nuncio said, “I know if Pope Francis could speak to us this morning, he would repeat the words he spoke two years ago on his visit to this country: ‘now is the time to say: no more of this.’”

Archbishop Horgan further reiterated Pope Francis’ words on the first day of the ecumenical visit to South Sudan, which he realized alongside the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Moderator of the Church of Scotland, Iain Greenshields .

“No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence and mutual recrimination, no more leaving your people a thirst for peace. No more destruction: it is time to build! Leave the time of war behind and let a time of peace dawn!” the Apostolic Nuncio in South Sudan said, reiterating Pope Francis’ 3 February 2023 peace pilgrimage message, when the Holy Father addressed South Sudan’s President and Vice Presidents in the garden of the presidential residence in the country’s capital city, Juba.

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“So says the Pope to us again today,” Archbishop Horgan said, and continued to narrate Pope Francis’ message, “It is time to turn the page. It is time for commitment to an urgent and much needed transformation. The process of peace and reconciliation needs a new start”. 

Agnes Aineah is a Kenyan journalist with a background in digital and newspaper reporting. She holds a Master of Arts in Digital Journalism from the Aga Khan University, Graduate School of Media and Communications and a Bachelor's Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communications from Kenya's Moi University. Agnes currently serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.