Pope Francis urges South Sudan to end “blind fury of violence”

Pope Francis has ended his peace mission to South Sudan with an impassioned plea urging the people to resist the “venom of hatred” to achieve the peace, forgiveness and prosperity that have eluded them through years of bloody ethnic conflicts.
Reconciliation and mutual forgiveness for past wrongs — these were the main themes woven in the Pope’s homily during his last public engagement before flying home. On Sunday (5 February), the 86-year-old pontiff presided at an open-air Mass, reportedly with some 100,000 people in attendance, that was held on the grounds of a mausoleum for South Sudan’s liberation hero John Garang, who died in 2005. As bouts of fighting continue to kill and displace many civilians despite the 2018 peace deal between two main antagonists, Francis made one more last plea for peace and forgiveness in the war-torn country.
The predominantly Christian South Sudan broke away from Muslim Sudan in 2011, but two years later plunged into a civil war that has so far killed 400,000 people. The pope has had a longstanding interest in the world’s youngest nation. In one of the most remarkable gestures of his papacy, he knelt to kiss the feet of the country’s previously warring leaders during a meeting at the Vatican in 2019. The historical “pilgrimage of peace” undertaken jointly by leaders of the Catholic, Anglican and Reformed traditions conducted a joint foreign visit has sought a recommitment to the 2018 peace deal in South Sudan. Despite having some of the largest crude oil reserves in sub-Saharan Africa, the country of nearly 11 million has been beset by widespread poverty and dire humanitarian situation was further aggravated by natural disasters.