There was a growing sense of anticipation in South Sudan about the visit of Pope Francis to this country, originally scheduled for July, but now postponed. We are all so disappointed and are praying for the pope to be on his feet soon and to be able to come to South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
His personal commitment to establishing a lasting and durable peace is undoubted. His remarkable and unpreceded gesture in 2019 of kissing the feet of the two main political leaders and protagonists in conflict made headlines the world over. This clearly showed the power of two political leaders to do good or evil and the heartfelt desire of a spiritual leader to overcome all obstacles to peace, including personal ego.
There is a great yearning for peace, the cessation of violence, the establishment of democratic and accountable governance in a country that has known intermittent war for the last six decades. In my third year serving as a member of Solidarity with South Sudan, I have started to ask what peace will look like, especially for women in this new African independent country. Are we simply talking about removing the gun and the bullet from society, or does peace need to take on a different face and address the ordinary and often accepted face of violence?
Read article by Sister Scholasticah Nganda, RSM, in Global Sisters Report
Sister Scholasticah is the director of the Good Shepherd Peace Center in Kit, South Sudan, and a member of the Solidarity with South Sudan pastoral team.
Photo by Paul Jeffrey
