The situation of the church in South Sudan

SouthSudan

The road ahead for South Sudan isn't any easier than the years of bloodshed and oppression that lie behind. With the referendum in January 2011, after 22 years of war, the South determined with almost 99% of the vote to secede from the Arab north.

An ancient land and a conflict with old roots

South Sudan will be the world's newest nation. Sudan's history, however, dates back as far as 8,000 BC and the presence of Christianity long precedes that of Islam. The first missionaries arrived at the start of the sixth century and 100 years later the Kingdom of Nubia was a dynamic and prosperous Christian nation. This cultural change by osmosis ruptured in 1820 with the Egyptian invasion when clergy and religious were tortured and murdered and the population was forced to adopt Islam.

Britain occupied Egypt in 1882 and treated the North and the South as separate administrative territories: in Northern Sudan, mainly Arab Muslims remained under Egyptian control, whilst the South, majority Animist and Christian African tribes, was administered by the British. This lasted until the 1950s when after a bloody rebellion Sudan regained its independence. In 1983 the government in the capital, Khartoum, began a process of compulsory Islamization in the South, introducing Islamic Sharia law and instigating discriminatory acts against the black population.

Pressure exerted by the international community on January 9th, 2005, the Comprehensive Peace Accords (CPA) were signed in Nairobi on behalf of both the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) and the central government of President Omar al-Bashir. The 101 days of prayer for peace initiated by the Catholic Bishops in the run up to the election in January 2011 were responded to by not only Sudanese but by hundreds of thousands of faithful in over 100 countries. The vote was conducted in peace and both sides have issued reassurances that they will respect the results of the referendum.

Oil-fields, oil-yields and militias

Sudan's oil fields are located in the South and comparable in size to those of Saudi Arabia. The 2005 accord was to ensure an even distribution of wealth generated from oil exports. However, the size of the oil deposits and the income derived from the drilling was never established, and only a fraction of the income has reached the Southern population. In stark contrast to this, over the last 10 years Khartoum has grown from a provincial Arab town with low buildings, no asphalt roads, retail outlets or restaurants, to a modern metropolis including high-rise towers, luxury stores and restaurants on par with any western capital.

Since the 1990's, the Islamic Khartoum government has used militias to terrorize, rape and kill dissenting populations. The aim of this collaboration was to sow devastation and panic, to incite the local population to flee and thereby to reduce their numbers. Up until 2002, Khartoum supplied groups such as the Ugandan Lord's Resistance Army (LRA) with weapons and financial support against the SPLA and later the same regime employed the Janjaweed militia - a militia recruited from local Arab tribes - against African inhabitants in Darfur. Within 22 years approximately 2,5 million people were killed, and 4 million fled to neighbouring states or to Khartoum.

Edward Kussala, the Bishop of Tambura Yambio ,located on the country's southernmost tip stated: "The human tongue lacks words that might begin to describe the feelings of those who have witnessed what they [LRA] do. Words like barbarism, Satanism, bestial behaviour, rape, cruel murders, all manner of evil, come to mind." Bishop Kussala underlines that the presence of the LRA in Western Equatoria is an all-embracing, web-like, political initiative of the Khartoum government using the militias as mercenaries to fight against Christians. In his region alone they have abducted over 7000 people, and killed 24.000. "Please imagine fighters surviving in forests for over four years. Who supplies them with cellular phones, radio, food, arms, ammunition, new uniforms, and all manner of other equipment?"

Christians: Life as a second-class citizen

In Khartoum's refugee suburbs, black southern Christians live between rubbish dumpsters, surrounded by the desert. Here they are second-class citizens, without rights or access to employment. A Christian identity eliminates any possibility of obtaining a scholarship or going on to higher education. Those lucky enough to find work typically receive half a Muslim's wage, for the same work. The Catholic Church is the only institution providing for the southern refugees, organizing provisional clinics under bamboo roofs or implementing its "Save the Saveable" program thanks to which many children are given the opportunity to benefit from a basic education, even though the curriculum is subject to Islamic restrictions.

Today Christian refugees trickle south to their homeland carrying hope, but little in the way of expertise and tools. The over 20 years of a hardscrabble hand to mouth existence requisite in the camps have left few equipped with the necessary skills to survive. They have no tools of their own, fleeing to the camps with what they could carry - anything of value traded away long ago - and having received on arrival nothing but a "welcome pack" made up of several plastic bowls, 2 blankets and a bag of rice with which to get started. The next aim for the country and the church: building a fledgling country from scratch.

"It is true: there are a lot of challenges to face but we are not downhearted. We know that God always stays with his people", said the 52-year-old Bishop Akio Johnson of Torit. He had already made it plain that his priorities are faith formation, catholic education and income generation projects such as small farms. "My most urgent priority is the spiritual renewal of people. During the time of war, people were Christian because they were against the oppressors. I want people to be Christian through conviction."

How you can help


Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) supports several projects in South Sudan. You can support these projects by donating via their national offices.

Below you can find one or more finished projects ACN supported in the past.

  • Help to renovate the minor seminary in the diocese of Rumbek
    Mapuordit, Sudan: Minor seminarians playing chess outside. @ACN

    Father Werenfried van Straaten, the founder of ACN once told a congregation to whom he was appealing for help, "I would gladly renounce the entire collection if there were just one young man in this church who was willing to give his life in the service of our Lord and proclaim the Kingdom of God as his priest". It is above all in such crisis torn countries as Sudan that soundly trained priests are needed as pastors to the people and as role models for young people who may one day opt for the priesthood. It was in the year 2007 that the minor seminary of the diocese of Rumbek returned from its war exile in Kenya. Read more >>

Statistics


Population: 8.50 Million
Religious statistics:
There are no undisputed religious statistics as of July 2011. South Sudan is predominantly inhabitated by Christians and followers of indigenous beliefs. According to the Pontifical Yearbook there are 2.9 Million Catholics in the Metropolitan province of Juba which comprises roughly the new country.

Breaking News from South Sudan



South Sudan: The World's Newest Nation