The Bishop of Torit Catholic Diocese Emmanuel Barnadino Lowi Napeta is discouraging forced and early marriages accusing elders in Kapoeta South County of promoting such habits.
The Bishop says those promoting forced marriages are preventing the bright future of young girls in South Sudan.
The Catholic leader challenges parents for not doing enough to send girls and boys to school rather than marriage.
“Things have changed if you want to be somebody in the society you study, our parents did not have the chance we have now.”
“Now if you have one girl and a boy educated they can change the society, the water we are carrying will come to you through the pipe, even roads will be okay and education speaks the future.”
Bishop Lowi appeals to parents and elders in the Namorunyang area in Kapoeta to denounce forced marriages and focus on education for children.
He encourages young people to work hard for their future by choosing to study and stop getting married at an early age.
“I would like to ask parents here that if you our children you will look for the studies, you can see mobile phones you take photos, so people who made these mobile phones is through education.”
“We also want to study and make our phones so that you put photos of your cows if it gets lost you will look for them, so education makes the impossible possible, even without education I would have not seen Pope, I just want to encourage you this who have not joined and those in school not to get discouraged.”
Bishop Lowi further praises the Parish of Our Lady of Sorrows in Kapoeta South County for initiating Bishop Sisto Mazolari Primary and Secondary School.
He says the learning center will help young people access education. Bishop calls for cooperation between the community and church for the expansion of the learning institution in the area.
“The young ones we shall try with the society here to put one or even three classes here, the parish is growing the parish priest has opened a school in Kapoeta town.” The Bishop was speaking during his pastoral visit to Namorunyang in Kapoeta South County.