South Sudan: the pope issues a cry of alarm to restore "dignity" to the displaced

Pope Francis on Saturday February 4 in Juba launched an ardent cry of alarm to the leaders of South Sudan to restore "

" to the displaced, renewing his call for peace in a country torn apart by power struggles.

"

", declared the pope during a meeting with internally displaced persons on the second day of his visit.

"

,” he insisted in front of 2,500 people.

2.2 million displaced

The head of the Catholic Church notably “

” the inhabitants to “

” women.

Sexual violence against women and girls is "

" in the country, according to a report published in 2022 by the UN-mandated Commission on Human Rights.

The Argentine pope on Friday began a long-awaited "

" in the youngest state in the world, where famine, misery and floods are rife.

Read alsoSouth Sudan: 21 dead in an armed attack on the eve of the Pope's visit

From 2013 to 2018, this country of 12 million inhabitants, 60% of whom are Christians, was plagued by a bloody civil war between the supporters of the two enemy leaders Salva Kiir and Riek Machar, which left 380,000 dead.

Despite a peace agreement signed in 2018, violence continues and the country had 2.2 million internally displaced people in December, according to the latest figures published by the UN organization OCHA.

“Humanitarian tragedy”

"

", lamented François, after hearing the testimonies of three young people who recounted the difficulty of life in the camps.

"

," he said, warning against the "

" of this "

".

Saturday morning, the sovereign pontiff spoke in front of the Catholic community at Sainte-Thérèse cathedral, in the presence of 5,000 faithful according to the authorities, who welcomed him with songs and dinghies in a festive atmosphere.

Read alsoMore than 420,000 people displaced or affected by floods in South Sudan

“

,” 24-year-old John Makuei told AFP.

At the end of the afternoon, Francis will participate in an ecumenical prayer alongside the heads of the Churches of England and Scotland, representatives of the two other Christian denominations, at the John Garang Mausoleum where the crowd was already waiting in the middle of the day, under a blazing sun.

“New burst”

On Friday, the pope had already urged the political class to a "

" for peace and castigated the scourge of corruption.

“

,” the 86-year-old pope warned.

The UN and the international community regularly accuse South Sudanese leaders of maintaining a status quo, stoking violence, suppressing political freedoms and embezzling public funds.

In 2019, Francis had received the two enemy brothers Salva Kiir and Riek Machar at the Vatican and knelt down to kiss their feet, begging them to make peace, a strong gesture which had not yet been followed by concrete progress. .

It is the first papal visit to South Sudan since the nation, which has more than 60 ethnic groups, gained independence from Sudan in 2011. The Church plays a surrogate role in areas without any government service and where aid workers are often attacked and even killed.

Read alsoIn Africa, Pope Francis “shocked” by the violence suffered and told by young survivors

This trip follows a four-day visit to Kinshasa, where the pope condemned the "

" perpetrated in the east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, plagued by abuses by armed groups that have left hundreds of thousands of dead.

Initially scheduled for the summer of 2022 and then postponed, this visit is the Argentine pope's 40th abroad since his election in 2013 and the third in sub-Saharan Africa.