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Pope Francis was affectionate towards South Sudan, President Salva Kiir of the world’s youngest nation has said, and recalled the 11 April 2019 extraordinary gesture when the Holy Father knelt and kissed his feet and those of his rival, Vice President Dr. Riek Machar Teny, among others, while begging the political leaders to end the country’s civil war.
Members of the Sudan and South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference (SSS-CBC) are calling on all parties implicated in the rising tensions in the East-Central African nation to refrain from violence and recommit to peace efforts.
President Salva Kiir of South Sudan has held a meeting with faith leaders in the East-Central African nation to re-affirm his commitment to restoring peace in the country that is facing renewed conflict with the arrest of the first Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar.
Amid testimonies of “rising tension” in South Sudan and reports of the arrest of the first Vice President, Dr. Riek Machar, a Catholic Bishop in the world’s youngest country has directed the people of God under his pastoral care to participate in daily prayers for peace.
Stephen Cardinal Ameyu Martin Mulla, the Archbishop of South Sudan’s Catholic Archdiocese of Juba has expressed hope in the Tumaini Initiative launched by President Salva Kiir to bring lasting peace in the east-central African country that continues to grapple with the devastation of a civil war.
The Presidency of South Sudan has agreed to extend the mandate of the country’s transitional government of national unity by two more years, and to adjourn the general elections that had been slated for this December to 2026.
The Presidential directive exempting foreign missionaries from paying for work permits in South Sudan is yet to be implemented, the Chairperson of the Religious Superiors Association of South Sudan (RSASS) has told ACI Africa.