A Historic Moment

Pope Francis, the archbishop of Canterbury and the moderator of the Church of Scotland arrived in South Sudan on Feb. 3 in an historic ecumenical visit, offering a joint and impassioned appeal for peace after a decade of raging civil war in the world's youngest country. "No more of this!" Francis begged during an arrival ceremony at the presidential palace. "No more bloodshed, no more conflicts, no more violence and mutual recriminations about who is responsible for it, no more leaving your people athirst for peace. No more destruction: it is time to build!"  As the church leaders began their three-day visit, Francis offered a blunt charge to the warring political leaders, long paralyzed by seemingly intractable tribal and ethnic conflict, urging them to abandon violence and become peacemakers. “History itself will remember you if you work for the benefit of this people that you have been called to serve. Future generations will either venerate your names or cancel their memory, based on what you do now. The sons and daughters of South Sudan need fathers, not overlords. They need steady steps towards development, not constant collapses. Without laying down weapons, the fertile, promising land of South Sudan will become a cemetery.” The Pope is seen here after his arrival in South Sudan being greeted by the Anglican Archbishop Justin Welby, the moderator of the  Church of Scotland Iain Greenshields, and Prime Minister of South Sudan Kiir, in his famous cowboy hat. We pray that this historic moment of reconciliation will be repeated in Israel, in Peru, in other conflicting nations, and especially between Ukraine and Russia.