AFRICA/SUDAN - “May the will of the people be respected” says Archbishop of Juba on referendum

Khartoum (Agenzia Fides) – The outcome from the South Sudan vote on self-determination is a clear manifestation of God’s will and has to be respected as such. This was the position Archbishop Paolino Lukudu Loro shared with a United Nations visiting delegation this morning in Juba.
Fr. Martin Ochaya Lino, Secretary General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba, told SCRN (Sudan Catholic Radio Network) News that an 8-member delegation headed by three members of the UN Panel for Sudan met with the Archbishop to know how he assessed the mood about the referendum in the area.
Archbishop Lukudu said the general feeling is that Southerners want independence. He added that there is a strong sense of dialogue among the different Christian traditions and with the Muslims because families in the south are multi-religious. Archbishop Lukudu said this is a very important moment in the history of Sudan that cannot go without God. He urged the faithful to pray before the vote to know what God wants from them.
The Archbishop of Juba said that the referendum was about dividing land and not people and there is no need for returning to war. He added that the division of the country should not affect the individual rights of citizens living at either side of the border. (LM) (Agenzia Fides 18/11/2010)