Sudan Declares Christmas a Public Holiday for First Time in a Decade

This past Wednesday, millions of people around the world celebrated Christmas. However, this was the first time in 10 years that the country of Sudan recognized Christmas as a public holiday, which is seen as a major step toward realizing religious equality and freedom in the region.

For the past three decades, the Islamist regime of Omar al-Bashir ruled over Sudan, instilling a secular and unaccommodating religious environment. With the recent military coup and formation of a transitional government, Bashir’s hold over the country has ended and Sudan’s current civilian prime minster has made it their mission to instill a new regime of welcoming and respecting of other religions.

While Christians make up a minority of the citizens living in Sudan, mostly in Khartoum and the Nuba Mountains, the nation has officially recognized Christmas as a public holiday, allowing these oppressed followers to celebrate their religion openly and without discrimination.

Many pro-democracy activists see this as a massive step in the right direction, and hope that this will pave the way for more improvements in the coming months as Sudan continues to rebuild itself in the wake of a violent civil war.

Read More

Bishop Kussala Recalls Traumatizing Adolescence in War-Torn Sudan

South Sudan has been engaged in turmoil for years, and people such as Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala knows first-hand of how horrid life is in the war-torn region.

When he was two months old, Bishop Kussala’s mother was violently killed, forcing him to be raised by his grandmother.

According to Bishop Kussala, his grandmother told him the names of those who killed his mother, and this led to him growing up with much hatred in his heart for them. However, while he was in a seminary, he met Father Ed Brady, a Jesuit priest from the US, who managed to convert him to a nonviolent mindset and showed him how to achieve peace through reconciliation.

Life had not been easy for Bishop Kussala, but his turn to religion helped him cope with the trauma of his past. Nowadays, he is an outspoken South Sudan advocate who fights relentlessly to provide food, shelter, medicine, and hope to the people living in the region.

His hope is that he can raise enough awareness around the world for people to fully grasp the seriousness behind the situation so that they can help the cause.

Source

South Sudan Defies Peace Deal; Recruits 10,000 Soldiers

Despite efforts over the past year to establish peace in South Sudan, it seems that local governments may be heading in another direction. Recent reports indicate that President Salva Kiir and the South Sudan National Security Service have recruited approximately 10,000 new fighters, breaching the terms of the peace deal.

Back in 2018, a fragile peace deal was signed to end the civil war in the region after more than 400,000 people had been killed. Unfortunately, it appears that South Sudan is not abiding by the deal due to these new updates about its military forces.

Because of this delay, the United States has announced that it will be recalling its South Sudan ambassador back to Washington to consult and reevaluate the relationship between the two countries.

Government officials are hoping for more positive updates in the coming months, but they are keeping a close watch on military movement in the meantime.

Read more

Pope Francis’ Kiss: Minor Gesture or Symbol of Peace for South Sudan?

For the past several years, South Sudan’s civil war has left hundreds of thousands of people dead and millions of refugees displaced from their homes. Prominent figures such as Bishop Eduardo Kussala have dedicated their time to establishing peace in the warring nation. During these trying times, even the smallest gestures, such as Pope Francis’ kiss last April, have made leaders hopeful for a brighter future.

During a Vatican and Anglican church-sponsored retreat in Rome, Pope Francis lowered himself to kiss the feet of South Sudan’s political leaders. To many, this gesture may not have meant much, but according to Bishop Kussala, it has led to a startling change.

Bishop Kussala said, “That gesture has made a tremendous impact on the process of peace itself because since that day, there has never been physical confrontation between the leaders, and they have kept on referring to this gesture, and they’re still trying to understand its meaning.”

Per Bishop Kussala, the African leaders saw the head of the church go down on his knees to kiss their feet as a shocking moment akin to divine intervention. Bishop Kussala believes that this kind gesture was an expression of something that he strongly believes will help bring about an end to the violence in South Sudan.

“We can … overcome obstacles only by humility.”

Read more:

https://www.americamagazine.org/politics-society/2019/10/23/can-pope-francis-prophetic-kiss-protect-peace-process-south-sudan