Category Archives: Peace and Reconciliation

Bishop Daniel Adwok Kur, Auxiliary Bishop of Catholic Archdiocese of Khartoum took the peace message to the UN in a meeting with Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. 11 October 2010

Peace be with you; do not be afraid

A MESSAGE OF HOPE AND HEALING

Peace I leave with you, my peace I give you, not as the world gives, do I give it to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled or afraid. (John 14:27-28)

Preamble

We the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference, gathered in Plenary assembly in Rumbek, southern Sudan, from 8th-15th November 2010, have prayed and reflected together with our brother bishops representing the Catholic Church in the whole of Africa on the situation in our beloved Sudan.

Mindful of our responsibility as prophets and shepherds at this crucial time, we write this message of hope on the eve of the referenda and the Season of Advent.

Introduction

The referenda for southern Sudan and Abyei and the popular consultations for Southern Kordofan and Blue Nile are national issues, not just issues of the south and the transitional areas. They were intended to bring healing to our nation, to resolve the longstanding differences which have led to so many decades of tragic conflict. Instead, as the Interim Period of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) draws to a close, we are acutely aware of the uncertainty, fear and even despair that burden the people of Sudan. The build-up of troops on both sides of the north-south border is not conducive to peace. However these tensions need not and should not lead to war. Regardless of the choices made and the lines drawn, peace is possible. We must now look beyond the referenda. All people of good will are called upon to commit themselves to respect the choices of the people of the south, Abyei and the transitional areas and to work for a just and peaceful future for all the people of Sudan and the region. Whether the outcome is unity or secession, Sudan will never be the same again because the people have exercised their free and democratic choice. Continue reading →

Catholic church leaders in the Great Lakes Region of Africa have agreed to work more closely together to promote peace in Africa’s volatile Great Lakes region.

Corruption and misrule, conflict, exploitation of natural resources and destruction of the environment have cost millions of lives and left many more traumatised.

Against this tableaux of despair,  some 125 representatives from Burundi, Congo, Rwanda, Uganda, Kenya,Tanzania,  and other parts of the region met in Bujumbura, Burundi, October 19-21 to agree on an action plan.

Proposals from the Burundi summit included setting up a mechanism for better regional coordination, working more closely with universities to understand root causes of the conflicts, and to improve ecumenical and interreligious collaboration.

Conference partners included the Catholic Peacebuilding Network, the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Africa Solidarity Fund, Catholic Relief Services (a Caritas member), the University of Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, the German Civil Peace Service (AGEH), Cordaid (Caritas Netherlands), Missio-Aachen, and Misereor.

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Funerals were held today at the Cathedral of St. Joseph (Khirbanda) in Baghdad for the victims of a terrorist attack on Sunday 31 October at the Church of Our Lady of Salvation.

An armed group broke into the Church of Saydat Al-Najat (Lady of Salvation) in the Iraqi capital’s Al-Karrada area during Mass. The congregation was held hostage for 6 hours, with some being released after a Iraqi-American rescue operation.

Three priests Fr Thaer Saadallah Abdal and Fr Wasim Sabih and Fr Raphael Qutaimi were killed along with 58 other people including Caritas Iraq volunteer Saad Adwar. One Caritas Iraq staff member and her child were injured in the attack.

Caritas Iraq staff have been visiting some of the seriously wounded people in hospital, and offering consolation to families of the victims.

Caritas Iraq requested prayers for the victims and their families and for peace in Iraq. Caritas will continue with its community peacebuilding efforts.