AFRICA/SUDAN - The challenges to the Church in South Sudan in preparing to become independent

Juba (Agenzia Fides) - On 9 July, South Sudan becomes an independent state, following the national referendum on independence, which was held in early January. South Sudan is already faced with a massive number of returning Sudanese from the north: according to estimates from the World Organisation for Migration, in August the phenomenon will affect more than 750,000 people. “The exodus, caused by panic, has emptied the north of Christians,” Bishop Caesar Mazzolari of Rumbeksaid said in a statement issued by Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to Fides. Following the elections, in fact, it is widely thought that President Omar al-Bashir - indicted by the Hague tribunal for crimes against humanity relating to the genocide in Darfur - would implement a more radical Islamisation. When the North, predominantly Muslim and Arab, will be separated from the South which is inhabited by mostly non-Muslims - Christians and animists - it is easy to foresee that Khartoum will take a very tough stance against minorities.
Of note is that the new state will also have to address - in addition to the immense flow of arrivals - the growing number of violent incidents. On January 17 came the news of Sister Angelina's death, a 37 year old religious from the Diocese of Tombura-Yambio, killed by militants from the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) while carrying medical aid to refugees in the region. Bloody events hav been recorded mainly in the states of Bar el Ghazal, Unità and Upper Nile. In Malakal, where the Bishop was parish priest in the 90s, more than 40 people were killed during an attack.
In order to reflect on the difficulties and challenges that the Country must face before 9 July, the Episcopal Conference of Sudan recently convoked an extraordinary plenary in Juba, the capital of the new State. At the end of the Assembly, the Bishops expressed their intention to meet with authorities to discuss together how lasting peace can be built in the region. (L.M.) (Agenzia Fides 8/4/2011)