One Year On, Apostolic Nuncio to South Sudan Highlights “fruits” of First-ever Papal Visit

In his Saturday, February 3 homily at St. Theresa’s Kator Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Juba, the venue of Pope Francis’ 4 February 2023 meeting with members of the Clergy, women and men Religious, and Seminarians, Archbishop Hubertus van Megen challenged the people of God in South Sudan to be “salt of the earth”, living honest lives founded on Gospel values. “The Holy Father, after his visit to Juba, gave us the gift of a Cardinal, His Eminence Stephen Ameyu, as a recognition of the importance of the Church of South Sudan,” Archbishop van Megen said.

The elevation of Archbishop Ameyu to Cardinal, the Apostolic Nuncio added, was “a recognition not only by the way of the Church as Bishops or as Priests or as Religious, but as we are all here today, people of God, because we all are part of that Church and we all have a responsibility and a commitment to that church.”

The Nairobi-based Vatican diplomat, who also represents the Holy Father in Kenya said that before Pope Francis’ ecumenical visit to South Sudan, all vacant Dioceses in the World’s newest nation had received their receptive shepherds. It was as if “God was strengthening this Church, putting it back on strong foundations,” Archbishop van Megen said to underscore the “fruits” of the Papal visit.

In his February 3 homily, the day the Prefect for the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development (DPIHD), Michael Cardinal Czerny, arrived in the country for his eight-day pastoral visit, Archbishop van Megen challenged the people of God in South Sudan to live honest lives, guided by Gospel values, as “salt of the earth.”

“Salt of the earth is about giving taste to life even more and deeper, to give sense to life and to be that sense for life, to life for others, not so much for yourself but for others, that others find taste in you, that you are that salt of the earth,” the representative of the Father in South Sudan who doubles as the Apostolic Nuncio in Kenya said. He said, “The Church is there and it is built on strong foundations. But that is not enough. It's about giving taste. God, in a sense, has done his work, but now he's waiting for our initiative.”

“How do we, as a Church, as Christians, give taste to society? How do we, as priests, bishops, how are we salt of the earth? How much are we ready to give? Are we really able to say, after Christ, this is my body and blood for you, and I give it all, I surrender completely. I keep nothing back. I give it all to you, Christ, because you have given everything to me,”  ” Archbishop van Megen said.

The Apostolic Nuncio said, “As a church, we want to follow in the footsteps of Pope Francis, following in the footsteps of Christ, to be salt of the earth, to give ourselves completely in this country of ours, in South Sudan, so that we will truly be called Christians, servants of the most high.”

Cardinal Czerny arrived at Juba International Airport on February 3 for a weeklong visit to South Sudan. Speaking to journalists following the arrival of the DPIHD Prefect, Cardinal Ameyu “thanked God for the timely visit.” 

He said Cardinal Czerny’s visit is to “remind the South Sudanese community of the need to work for peace and unity.”

The Archbishop of Juba called on the people and Christians to “remind themselves of the message brought by Pope Francis a year ago that all may be one taken from the prayers of Jesus.”

The Czechian member of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) is scheduled to visit South Sudan’s only Metropolitan See, Juba, and one of the six suffragan Dioceses, Malakal. In Juba, he is set to preside over Holy Mass on Sunday, February 4 at St. Theresa’s Cathedral of Juba Archdiocese, the venue of Pope Francis’ 4 February 2023 meeting with members of the Clergy, women and men Religious, and Seminarians during his three-day visit to South Sudan.

The Cardinal, who founded and directed the African Jesuit AIDS Network (AJAN) in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2002 to 2010 is also scheduled to visit Renk, one of the entry points for those fleeing violence in Sudan’s capital city, Khartoum. At the “outreach point” in the Northeastern part of South Sudan, Cardinal Czerny is to “bless a boat”, which Caritas South Sudan “will use to transport migrants and refugees along the Nile River from Renk to Malakal.

On February 8, the Feast of St. Josephine Bakhita, he is scheduled to preside over the Eucharistic celebration at a Malakal Catholic Church dedicated in honor of the Sudanese-born saint, who is the patron saint of victims of modern slavery and human trafficking. During the February 8 Holy Mass, the Prefect of the DPIHD is to lead the people of God at St. Josephine Bakhita Church in Malakal in marking the tenth annual World Day of Prayer and Reflection against Human Trafficking, whose theme is, “Journeying in Dignity. Listen. Dream. Act”. 

He is also set to ordain three Deacons in the Catholic Diocese of Malakal, he told ACI Africa during the January 31 interview.

[ACI Africa]