Malakal, 27 January, 2026 / 8:18 pm (ACI Africa).
The representative of the Holy Father in South Sudan has urged government security agencies and armed opposition groups in the country’s Jonglei State to allow space for dialogue to address renewed fighting, which, according to humanitarian agencies, has displaced more than 230,000 civilians in January 2026 alone.
Archbishop Séamus Patrick Horgan made the appeal in his homily on January 24 while presiding over Holy Mass at St. Paul Bor Parish of the Catholic Diocese of Malakal, highlighting Pope Leo XIV’s call on the World Day of Peace to embrace “an unarmed and disarming peace.”
“I appeal to all who exercise influence at every level in the State to work for pacification and de-escalation. Silence the weapons of war. Give priority to dialogue between the local parties. Any problems of mistrust in Jonglei can be resolved by talking to each other,” he said.
The first-ever resident Apostolic Nuncio in South Sudan underscored the need for a disarmament that goes beyond the physical mopping up of arms, saying, “We need to disarm our hearts and minds too. We need to put away the slogans and the war propaganda, mutual suspicion, recrimination, and rivalry.”
Archbishop Séamus who has served as Nuncio in the east-central African nation since his appointment in May 2024 highlighted the devastating consequences of the ongoing violence. Warning that “already some 240,000 people have been displaced this year; lives have been lost and people have been injured.”
