A Catholic priest has described the ecumenical pilgrimage of His Holiness Pope Francis, as a lesson for South Sudanese to work for peace and Unity.
The Pope will arrive in Juba on Friday this week together with the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland.
Father John Loboka Morris the Regional Superior of Apostle of Jesus in Sudan and South Sudan says the leaders should learn to have a commitment for peace.
He urges the politicians to set aside their differences and focus on implementing peace.
“From this visit of the Holy Father, I think what our leaders could learn is commitment to peace, it’s not enough to speak about peace, and it’s not enough to make statement but to put it into practice.”
“The leaders should make a decisive resolution to work for the direct implementation of peace and work for the people”, Father John adds.
Father John explains the importance of the Pope’s apostolic mission to South Sudan hoping to change people’s heart to ensure everyone works for peace in the country.
“It’s a time for the leaders of South Sudan to hear the voice of His Holiness because he comes as a messenger of peace”, he says.
He calls on South Sudanese to have hope for total peace to prevail in the country. South Sudan is preparing to welcome Pope Francis for the first time in its history.
However, some pilgrims from Wau arrived in juba on Tuesday night say their dream is to attend historic holy mass Pope Francis will hold in South Sudan has come true.
The chairperson of liturgy high committee in Wau diocese, Francs Romano described the journey as Joyous and Merciful.
The members aboard came singing all the way from Wau despite the distance and other challenges faced.
“The coming of the Pope to our country is a joyous moment for us, due to the distance, we took more hours on the way but at the end we arrived safely in juba yesterday night. We are a team of 91 people and more our delegation may arrive here today from Wau at 2 PM with plane.”
The pilgrim Stephen Aroba says they would want to see a positive change of attitude and social lives within the politicians and fellow South Sudanese after the Pope’s visit.
Pope Francis arrived in DR Congo on Tuesday and will proceed to South Sudan this week.
His Holiness will meets top leadership in the country, Christians, IDPs, Priests and Religious leaders in Juba.