Pope Francis issued yet another call for peace on his final day in South Sudan.
Francis pleaded with South Sudanese people to put down their weapons and show forgiveness as he celebrated Mass in front of thousands of people on Sunday.
In a speech, he stated: “Brothers and sisters, even though our hearts ache from the injustices we have endured, let us once and for all refuse to return evil for evil, and we will become strong from the inside out.
“As God loves us, let’s accept one another and show one another our sincere and unselfish love. Let’s cherish our inherent goodness and resist allowing it to be tainted by evil!
The Pope urged residents of South Sudan, the youngest nation in the world, to put down their weapons and show one another forgiveness. The civil war that resulted in the country’s independence in 2011 continues to have an impact on it.
“This country needs the light that each of you has, or better yet, the light that each of you is, because it is so beautiful but wracked by violence, “Francis stated.
“My dear brothers and sisters, I pray that you will spread the Gospel’s communal flavor throughout South Sudan by dissolving and dispersing you.
A peace agreement was signed in 2018 by President Salva Kiir, his longtime foe Riek Machar, and other opposition groups. However, many of the agreement’s provisions, such as the creation of a national unified army, have not been fully implemented, and fighting has continued to erupt.
The Rt. Rev. Iain Greenshields, moderator of the Church of Scotland, and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, who traveled with Pope Francis to South Sudan and back to Rome.
