Bishop Kussala has advanced degrees in bioethics, government, politics and international relations and a doctorate in moral theology. He has written four books, the latest entitled Reconciliation, Healing, and Peace in South Sudan. I asked him what the steps were for a way forward.
“First of all, we need ongoing training and formation of political leaders. We need to be close to them. As a people, we need to learn from other countries, but we do not need a watchdog or to be spoken to with harsh words. We need collaboration, even with Sudan’s former colonial powers, to help South Sudan to stand on its own feet.
“Secondly, as a Church, it is our responsibility to educate people about the importance of peace, about their human dignity and human rights, and about peace-making. We need this in order to come out of decades of the trauma of violence. After these eight years of struggle to become a nation, we are all traumatized. It is time to build our identity.
“Thirdly, we need development. There is no peace without development that involves youth, women, the elders, everyone as collaborators. We need people to come in and assist us, accompany us to move forward.
“Finally, the international community, especially those countries that border South Sudan: Sudan, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African Republic. These countries all bear responsibility for peace in South Sudan. They should not sit by and watch the confusion in South Sudan and profit from it, through gun trafficking to requiring us to buy goods and services from them without investing in South Sudan’s development for autonomy. We are people that have never known anything other than war and conflict. We need peaceful neighbors who support our peace.”
The Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference is developing a pastoral plan that includes both Sudan and South Sudan. It will consist of a catechesis that helps people live according to their Catholic faith, programs to form the pastoral identity of priests, religious and catechists so that they can have an influence in their countries to continue the work of peace.
-Sister Rose Pacatte
