---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: John Ashworth <[email protected]> Date: Sat, Jul 16, 2011 at 3:38 AM Subject: [sudan-john-ashworth] Fwd: Message of the Catholic Bishops of the Republic of the Sudan To: Group <[email protected]>
Message of the Catholic Bishops of the Republic of the Sudan "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29: 11) This is a message from the Catholic Bishops of the Republic of the Sudan, who gathered in a meeting at the Catholic Bishops’ secretariat in Khartoum, from 13 to 16 July 2011, to the faithful of the Archdiocese of Khartoum and of the Diocese of El Obeid. This meeting follows the political event of 9th of July, when South Sudan made its formal secession from the North. The partition of the Sudan into two sovereign states has not been a smooth and easy journey. The people of both, the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of the Sudan, have a great challenge to build new relationship and respond positively to the new situations that have come. We wish Christians of the Republic of South Sudan to unceasingly pray and work hard to build strong foundation of statehood in their country. Let us continue to pray for the completion of peaceful transitions in the two Republics and hope that political solutions will be found for the remaining outstanding issues. Despite all the difficulties, we look with hope to our future as Disciples of Christ in this new political situation. We value the recent message and invitation for a new beginning by the President of the Republic, Omer Hassen Ahmed Beshir in his address to the Parliament on Tuesday 12th July 2011, where he stated: “We enter in a new stage of our history, the Second Republic, there is need of new constitution and all are invited to take part in the process.” This is a positive move and assurance from the President, a sign of reconciliation and an appeal to heal our wounds and an effective request for every citizen to rise from the ashes of our past and recreate our future with peace, dignity and equality for all. Our hearts ache as we think of our brothers and sisters who continue to suffer in south Kordofan and Abyei due to the violence related to their political aspirations. We hope that the recent attempts to resolve the conflicts may be successful. We hope that the peace agreement signed on 14th July in Doha, between the Government of the Sudan and the Liberation and Justice Movement (LJM) will contribute in ending the long suffering of the people of Darfur. At this moment of transition, we call upon all our pastoral collaborators and urge them to consider this period as a new opportunity for a spiritual renewal and to strengthen the spirit of communion, cooperation, mutual support, sharing of resources and personnel. In this new context our situation is very similar to that of the first Christian communities, when they were living in the middle of trials; they sustained their faith by putting Christ at the centre of their life. He is the same Risen Christ telling to us today: “Why are you troubled? And why do questions arise in your hearts? Behold, I'm with you always, until the end of the age (Lk 24, 38; Mt 28, 20). In this new challenge, we need serious programs of renewal with pastoral initiatives to foster vocations, formation of new catechists and Christian family education of our children. Our dear brothers and sisters, the church shall continue to carry out her mandate of evangelization and care for her people wherever they may be in this great land that witnessed many miracles and inspired many of us to be missionaries to others. Ours is a call to respond to new prospects, to strengthen and accompany our faithful in their spiritual activities. But this call can only be fulfilled collectively, through the involvement and cooperation with our Sister Churches and in dialogue with the other religions. There is great need to work together in the formation of the new constitution. God will bless us with peace as we open our hearts for forgiveness and reconciliation. In conclusion, we implore our Mother Mary, the Queen of Peace, St. Josephine Bakhita and St. Daniel Comboni to intercede for us all, so that we may live this period in peace and hope. May God bless you all! H.E. Gabriel Cardinal Zubeir Wako Archbishop of Khartoum & President of SCBC H.L. Daniel Adwok Kur Auxiliary Bishop of Khartoum H.L. Michael Didi Adgum Co-adjutor Bishop of El-Obeid Issued 16th July 2011 END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +249 919 695 362 (Sudan mobile) +27 82 853 3556 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52002 - 00200, Nairobi, Kenya This is a personal e-mail address and the contents do not necessarily reflect the views of any organisation -- The content of this message does not necessarily reflect John Ashworth's views. 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