Bishop condemns assault on Catholic church in South Sudan

YAOUNDÉ, Cameroon – In the wake of a Dec. 10 attack on a Catholic parish in South Sudan that left one person dead and another injured, the local bishop has called the carnage “horrific” and “deeply heartbreaking.”

“This act of violence is deeply heartbreaking and reprehensible,” said Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Diocese of Tombura-Yambio.

On the evening of Dec. 10, still-unidentified gunmen stormed St. Mary Help of Christian parish, around which a displaced persons camp has grown up, and opened fire indiscriminately, killing one victim identified as James Undo and injuring an unnamed woman.

“This violence is unjustifiable and must never happen again,” Hiiboro said in a statement. “I call on those responsible to repent, seek forgiveness from God, and turn away from violence. The path of peace is the only way forward.”

He said attacks on places of worship are obviously at variance with international humanitarian law.

“A church, mosque, hospital, school, or embassy should always be places of refuge, peace, and safety,” Hiiboro said.

“These sacred spaces are meant to protect the innocent, not to be turned into battlegrounds. The attack on such a holy place is an affront to humanity and a gross violation of basic human dignity,” he said.

Hiiboro called on those responsible for the violence to repent and embrace the path of peace, insisting that peace is the only viable pathway for the region.

He urged the South Sudanese government to protect the vulnerable population as violence continues to escalate in the world’s newest country.

“The situation in Tombura has spiraled out of control,” Bishop Hiiboro noted.

“The government must restore order and ensure the safety of its citizens, especially those who have already lost so much. I ask, where is the President of South Sudan? Has he heard the cries of the people of Tombura? For three years, violence has plagued this region, and yet there seems to be no action or response from the highest office in the land.”

Among other things, the area around Tombura has been a focus for the “Lord’s Resistance Army,” an armed faction founded in 1987 amid tensions in Uganda which has gone to become a regional presence, often accused of brutality and terrorism.

Hiiboro said the sheer silence of the authorities in the face of such violence gives the impression that Tombura, located in the far western part of the country near borders with both the Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic, isn’t part of South Sudan.

“We stand with the people of Tombura in this time of crisis,” the bishop said.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with the families affected by this tragedy, and we will continue to work towards bringing peace and justice to this region,” he said.

The recent attack directed at a church underscores what is now seen as a worsening situation for Christians in South Sudan, which is a country of 11 million inhabitants, 60 percent of whom identify as Christian.

In April 2021, Father Christian Carlassare, an Italian missionary priest, was seriously injured by gunmen. Similarly, Anglican priest Daniel Garang Ayuen was killed in June 2020, and the cathedral of the Athooch Diocese was set on fire. In January 2022, Islamist extremists attacked the Christian community of Yith Pabol, resulting in the deaths of at least 28 people and the burning of 57 houses.

Such attacks are a grim reminder of what Christians went through in Sudan some fifty years ago, according to Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako, the retired archbishop of Khartoum.

The Sudanese Cardinal remarked that “there was a time when people were afraid to say they were Christians.”

“People were afraid to wear crosses. People were afraid to affirm their rights, for instance [the right] on Sunday to go for (Holy) Mass.”

Hiiboro said it isn’t helpful to go back to such a period, and urged Christians to take responsibility for building peace in the country.

“This is a season of preparing our hearts for the birth of our Savior, who came to bring peace to the world. Let us all take responsibility for building peace in our communities, in our country, and in our hearts,” Hiiboro said in his Dec. 12 statement.