By Otto Abut
Rev Fr. Dr. Martine Ochaya Lino takes oath of office as the New Secretary General of the Sudan and South Sudan Bishop’s Conference.
Rev Fr. Dr. Martine Ochaya Lino was appointed by H.E. Stephen Cardinal Ameyu Martine Mulla, the Arch Bishop of Juba Arch Diocese and the President of the Sudan and South Sudan Bishop’s Conference on the 22nd, of December 2024.
The new secretary general was installed on Saturday 1st 2025 in a decent transition administered by Cardinal Stephen Ameyu Mulla, the President of the Sudan and South Sudan Bishop’s Conference in Juba.
Rev Fr. Dr. Martine Ochaya Lino succeeded Fr. Peter Suliman who served for two terms.
The new secretary-general will now coordinate the work of the secretariat with the different commissions of departments within the Bishops Conference.
The Secretary-General documents the resolutions and follows up on their implementation, ensuring that the resolutions are acted upon across different commissions, such as pastoral care, communication, and Catholic education.
He acts as the executor of the resolutions made by the bishops during their meetings, which typically occur three times a year, with the main meeting being the annual plenary in November.
He also acts as the official spokesperson of the Bishops in their absence.
Rev Fr. Dr. Martine Ochaya Lino was ordained as a priest in January 2001 and Served at St.Theresa Cathedral as Assistant Parish Priest, for nine months.
In 2006 he was appointed as the Secretary General of the Catholic Archdiocese of Juba and served for six years.
In 2019, the late Archbishop Paulino Lokudu appointed him Diocesan Coordinator for Justice and Peace Commission, an office he served till now.
Rev Fr. Dr. Martine Ochaya Lino, who is a peace caller, also lectures at the Catholic University of South Sudan, in the Institute of Peace and Conflict Studies.
Rev Fr. Dr. Martine Ochaya Lino has been serving as the Parish Priest of St. Kizito since 2020 till now when he was appointed to serve at the Secretariat of the Bishops Conference.