---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "John Ashworth" <[email protected]> Date: 25 Mar 2014 10:12 Subject: [sudans-john-ashworth] Pope Francis: end violence in South Sudan To: "Group" <[email protected]> Cc:
Pope Francis: stop to violence in South Sudan 2014-03-23 16:02:49 (Vatican Radio) Pope Francis on Sunday appealed for an end to violence in South Sudan, to ensure access to humanitarian aid and for the promotion of peace. In a letter addressed to Archbishop Paulino Lukudu Loro of Juba, read at Mass on Sunday morning by Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, who is in South Sudan on a mission to pray with the people there, the Pope entreated all parties involved to "tirelessly seek peaceful solutions, enabling the common good to prevail over particular interests". The letter, which carried the signature of Cardinal Secretary of State, Pietro Parolin, decried "the fighting that has cost the lives of many innocent people and caused deep wounds and divisions which will take many years to heal". It continued: "We see daily how armed conflicts are generating poverty, hunger, sickness and death, and we cannot remain indifferent to these realities. We are likewise deeply grieved by the dramatic situation of those many men, women and children forced to flee their native lands and live in camps as refugees or exiles, in conditions unworthy of their human dignity and in which they are no longer seen as persons but as nameless statistics". It quotes the Letter of Pope Francis to H.E. Mr. Vladimir Putin, President of the Russia Federation, on the occasion of the G20 St Petersburg Summit in September 2013 which says "We know that without peace there can be no development". "For this reason the Holy Father addresses a pressing appeal to all parties involved, so that, with the support of the international community, they may put an end to hostilities and acts of violence, ensure access to humanitarian aid for the needy, and tirelessly seek peaceful solutions, enabling the common good to prevail over particular interests". The letter continues saying that Pope Francis "urges us to promote the culture of encounter. This means first and foremost, rejecting self-centeredness and insistence on one's own rights without concern for the rights of others. It means seeing in others, not competitors or, worse still, enemies, but rather brothers and sisters to be accepted and with whom to work. The commitment to create a climate of constructive social creativity must prevail over selfishness and the thirst for power, with a clear recognition that human beings, with their legitimate moral, ethical, and social aspirations, are always prior to the State and the various powers which might in some way seek to subject them". "These weeks of Lent" - the letter says - "help us to follow Jesus Christ, present in his Church, the ultimate and definitive foundation of our lives and the certainty of our hope. Only when we recognize the presence of Christ are we able to face the future with confidence, without fear and illusion. This liturgical season is a privileged moment for undertaking a path of purification and conversion of mind and heart. Only in this way will we be able to uproot all the false and seductive promises of happiness which enslave us. It is imperative for our consciences to be converted to justice, fraternity and sharing! In imitation of our Master, we Christians are called to open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters, and to assume our responsibility to work concretely towards alleviating them (cf. Lenten message of our Holy Father Francis 2014). The letter concludes underlining the fact that while condemning every act of violence, the Catholic Church "will remain present and work generously in providing every possible form of assistance, especially for the sake of reestablishing a climate of dialogue, reconciliation and peace among all the members of society". http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2014/03/23/pope_francis:_stop_to_violence_in_south_sudan_/en1-784109 END ______________________ John Ashworth Sudan, South Sudan Advisor [email protected] +254 725 926 297 (Kenya mobile) +211 919 695 362 (South Sudan mobile) +27 79 832 8834 (South Africa mobile) +44 750 304 1790 (UK/international) +88 216 4334 0735 (Thuraya satphone) PO Box 52662 - 00100, 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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