Sudan and South Sudan’s Catholic Bishops have concluded their annual plenary on Friday in Juba and resolved to remain as one bishop’s conference.
‘The Bishops have resolved a lot of issues concerning the administrative and pastoral matters of the Catholic Church in the two countries’, says Bishop Eduardo Hiboro Kusala, the current conference chairman.
He reports that it was a concern of Pope Francis that, Sudan and South Sudan’s Catholic Church maintains one bishops’ conference, due to the current situation of the two countries.
Bishop Hiboro explains that two deputy secretaries would be selected to help in facilitating the needs of each country and coordinate the pastoral activities of the bishops’ conference.
He discloses that they have also agreed to change the name of the conference which he describes it as break through.
The CCBSSS immediately appointed Fr Peter Suleiman, from the Diocese of El-Obeid as a new Secretary General who is yet to get his Sudan’s deputy appointed as well.
The plenary also established three commissions which include, pastoral commission headed by Bishop Trile Tome of El-Obeid diocese, Seminary commission, headed by Bishop Michael Didi of Khartoum archdiocese and priests and religious commission headed by Bishop, Santo Laku Pio, the auxiliary bishop of Juba.