Christians in Juba have reacted to the rejection letter by a group of cleric and laity on the appointment of a new archbishop to Juba archdiocese saying it was not written in a professional manner.
The letter signed by eight people, including three priests, government officials and Professors rejecting the appointment of the newly appointed Archbishop.
Part of the letter reads that ‘The next Archbishop of Juba must be a visible sign of unity among all the faithful. This requires that, in addition to his mastery of English and Arabic languages, he must have ample knowledge of the local and the culture of indigenous tribes of Archdiocese of Juba.’
But one of the faithful Paul not his real name argues that a priest or an archbishop can serve God anywhere regardless of where he comes from.
‘To me that letter is Barbaric. I didn’t expect the clergies or priests who have been informed, gone to the formation house, know the hierarchy in the Church and they know how the Church works, to come out with such a letter and these are senior priests, they are doctors and professors who contributed in writing such a letter. A priest is a Shepherd and is entitled to go anywhere provided that he is taking care of the flocks’.
In their Dec. 12th letter, obtained by CRN, the group says they are indigenous and represent ‘the majority of concerned people of the Archdiocese.’
Meanwhile another Christian says the allegations against the newly appointed archbishop are unjustified.
‘The letter was so aggressive. It was also generalizing the faithful of Catholic Archdiocese in Juba and I happen to be one of the faithful who was brought up in the Catholic faith since childhood. Those letters do not represent my views. I know the appointed archbishop and those allegations are baseless. I do not know of such things. These letters do not reflect thousands of people because no referendum was conducted. So which Church was consulted? Which Parish was consulted? How did they reach to this conclusion? The Christian asks.
Another Christian urges the Clergies to address issues in a good manner.
‘In Christ teachings, he was telling his disciples to act in a way that people would see their good works and glorify God. The document was written in a radical and unprofessional way. So as a faithful, the priests and laymen should have been more professional in addressing issues that address our Church, even though there were issues of integrity, that document did not address it’, the believer argues.
The Christians ask those who wrote the letter to withdraw their statement and apologize to Archdiocese of Juba.