The Catholic Church in South Sudan responds to the needs of refugees entering the country from Sudan while calling for greater efforts to maintain the peace process in South Sudan. The following article was published in the September-October 2023 issue of NewsNotes.
More than 130,000 people have fled fighting in Sudan for neighboring South Sudan since April, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Even more have arrived in Chad. Ethiopia and the Central African Republic have also received nearly 20,000 each. Numbers are expected to rise as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces spreads across Sudan.
The situation for these new refugees in South Sudan is made worse by local skirmishes and communal violence in the young African country that threaten a five-year-old peace agreement that Archbishop Stephen Ameyu of Juba said has “not yet been implemented systematically.”
“Let us make peace and reconciliation our priorities,” Ameyo said at the South Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Provincial Council forum at the end of June in the capital city of Juba. “We stand on the crossroad of implementing the ecumenical messages left by our visitors, especially Pope Francis,” he said, recalling the historic joint visit in February by Pope Francis, the Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and Reverend Iain Greenshields.
At the same time, the archbishop, now cardinal-elect, called on dioceses across South Sudan to set up emergency centers to receive Sudanese refugees, whom he said should be given “special consideration” to settle in the country.
Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin echoed these priorities during his four-day visit to South Sudan in August. Upon his arrival in Juba, Parolin first met with President Salva Kiir, followed by a meeting with opposition leader Vice President Riek Machar. He spoke with both leaders about the need to “embrace the spirit of peace and reconciliation in order to build a harmonious society in the country.”
On the second day of his visit, Cardinal Parolin turned his attention to the plight of the Sudanese refugees when he traveled to the Diocese of Malakal, a place that has repeatedly suffered flooding and fighting between warring factions and now is taking in refugees from Sudan.
Speaking through a megaphone, Parolin told a crowd of refugees there, “We feel very sorry for you, for what happened to you in Sudan.” He added, “We can do something also from our side; we are the Holy See, we are the Vatican, the moral voice very powerful in the international community.”
He also reassured the refugees of Pope Francis’ concern and solidarity with them, saying, “This solidarity is not empty-hand solidarity because the Catholic Church is committed to helping you in whatever way they can. This is the solidarity of the Holy Father; this is the solidarity of the universal Church; this is the solidarity of the local Church.”
Maryknoll lay missioner Gabe Hurrish is on mission in South Sudan. In June, Gabe wrote on the Maryknoll Lay Missioners website that he has moved to a new mission, after two and a half years in ministry at the Kuron Peace Village in the far western part of South Sudan.
Gabe’s new ministry is at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in a place called Riwoto, near Kapoeta City, which is 164 miles south of Juba. The parish lost its longtime pastor when Fr. Tim Galvin of the St. Patrick Missionaries died unexpectedly last February. Two young Nigerian priests are now assigned to lead the parish.
“Five young Ugandan sisters help run the nursery, primary and secondary schools,” Gabe wrote. “The parish is large and active, with a health clinic, tree planting, 12 small Christian communities, weekly religious classes, youth and adult groups, and many catechists.”
The number of students in need of teachers is tremendous, Gabe said. “The nursery has more than 500 little ones, ranging from 2 to 6 years old. The primary school has more than 1,000 students with 20 teachers. There is a huge demand for more students to enter, but, unfortunately, there is no more capacity.”
Gabe will teach computers and agriculture to the secondary school students and assist the other teachers and pastors with the many demands they face. Despite the immense work before him, Gabe said, “I am thankful to have landed in such a wonderful place.”
Faith in action:
Read more about the ministry of Maryknoll Lay Missioner Gabe Hurrish at https://mogc.info/Riwoto
Photo of Sunday Mass at St. Mary Magdalen Parish in Riwoto, South Sudan courtesy of Maryknoll Lay Missioners