Catholic Bishops of Sudan and South Sudan questioned why Churches in South Sudan and civil society organizations were excluded from the ongoing peace talks in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
The President of the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako said the Bishops asked why Churches were neglected in the current peace talks after leading the National Healing and Reconciliation Commission and other peace initiatives?
He said the Bishops also questioned how those who instigated the crisis be entrusted to negotiate the future of South Sudan without some inputs from citizens?
Cardinal Zubeir voiced the Bishops’ call for promotion of reconciliation that involves truth telling and knowing root causes of the violence that erupted on December 15.
He said the reconciliation process should be followed by accountability, compensation, forgiveness and peaceful coexistence for the fundamental survival of South Sudan.
Catholic Bishops of Sudan and South Sudan made their questions after concluding their ten-day extraordinary plenary in Juba on Friday.