---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: "John Ashworth" <[email protected]> Date: 13 Jun 2015 17:54 Subject: [sudans-john-ashworth] WCC backs SSCC Kigali statement To: "Group" <[email protected]> Cc:
South Sudan Council of Churches backed by WCC in peace bid for war-torn country 11 June 2015 | World Council of Churches The Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches (WCC) discussed at their meeting 8-12 June, in Armenia, the alarming situation in South Sudan where people continue to be killed, raped, displaced and tortured. The humanitarian situation is reported to be deteriorating. The tragic conflict in South Sudan has moved into its 18th month, and the World Council of Churches (WCC) has pledged its support of the church leaders in the country making a commitment to work for peace. Twenty-five leaders and representatives from the member churches of the South Sudan Council of Churches gathered in Kigali, Rwanda for a retreat from 1 to 7 June 2015 along with members of the laity, the World Council of Churches and partners to reflect and propose a plan to achieve peace and reconciliation in South Sudan. “We lament that sustainable peace has not been attained in South Sudan. Peace must be sustained and it must be peace with justice. People’s lives are in danger, the whole country cries out in pain. We pray for the church leaders in their efforts to make peace and reconciliation, and for the conflicting parties to listen to the voice of the church leaders,” said Dr Agnes Abuom, moderator of the WCC Central Committee. Abuom added “We are pilgrims and we have to work, walk and pray together. The WCC supports the church in South Sudan during these difficult times. We have a long commitment in the region of more than 40 years and the WCC supports the statement of the church leaders on 7 June. .” The leaders from the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC) said in their statement issued on 7 June: “We have repeatedly stated that this is a senseless war which must stop immediately. There is no moral justification to continue killing ourselves, regardless of any legitimate political issues with government or opposition.” They also said in their statement: “A cessation of hostilities must be implemented before any detailed negotiations for the future; it is unacceptable to negotiate posts and positions while people are killing and being killed. Negotiations are about to begin again while innocents continue to suffer. What will be different this time?” The church leaders stated: “The needs of the people must be met, not the needs of political and military elites. It appears that pride, power and politics have become a greater priority than peace.” http://www.oikoumene.org/en/press-centre/news/south-sudan-council-of-churches-backed-by-wcc-in-peace-bid-for-war-torn-country [The SSCC statement was circulated on this Google group on 07 June 2015 and can be found online at http://en.radiovaticana.va/news/2015/06/07/church_leaders_continue_search_for_peace/1149786 ] 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) +44 750 364 2508 (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. Unless explicitly stated otherwise, John Ashworth is not the author of the content and the source is always cited. You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudan-john-ashworth" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.co.za/group/sudan-john-ashworth --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "sudans-john-ashworth" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/sudans-john-ashworth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout. -- To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/d/forum/southsudankob View this message at https://groups.google.com/d/msg/southsudankob/topic-id/message-id For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/SouthSudanKob/CAJb14orouPcwjmVrsDEi-zvbg1seKts7BZoEtHs4rxMd4V-ZwQ%40mail.gmail.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
