The former representative of the Pope to the Sudan is in Wau since Saturday for a five-day visit.
Archbishop Erwin Josef Ender was welcomed by Bishop Rudolf Deng Majak, of Wau, County Commissioner Luka Anthony, church personnel and representatives from different religious congregations, SCR News correspondent reported.Yesterday morning Archbishop Ender presided an open-air mass outside St. Mary Help of Christians cathedral.
He acknowledged the sufferings of the Sudanese people he witnessed while celebrating every Sunday the mass with the displaced in Khartoum during his service as Nuncio.
Archbishop Ender also stated in his homily that no real change to the Sudan could come from international organizations or any other external support.
He added that only peace from within the country, based on democracy, can build a better and brighter future for Sudan.
This morning Archbishop Ender met the heads of department in the diocese and visited the Catholic University Campus and the Catholic Health Training Institute.
Tomorrow he will bless together with Bishop Deng the Outpatient Department of St. Daniel Comboni Catholic Diocesan Hospital.
The renovation of the first part has been completed and the OPD will be operational within months.
After leaving Wau, the German Archbishop plans to visit other dioceses in South Sudan including Juba.
Archbishop Ender has retired from the active diplomatic service, but acts as a consultant to the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, especially in the countries where he was Apostolic Nuncio.
The Archbishop was Apostolic Nuncio to the Sudan from 1991 to 1997.