ALL TWELVE SUDAN BISHOPS MEET IN KHARTOUM

Yesterday Sunday, July 22^nd 2007, from 8:30am ? 11:30 am, in St. Mathew Catholic Catherdral near the presidential palace of the Republic of the Sudan in Khartoum, the Christian faithful in Northern Sudan had witnessed a big event in the history of Christianity in the Sudan. All the twelve Bishops of the Sudan, in addition to Apostolic Nuncio of the Vatican Embassy in Khartoum and two Bishops from United States of America prayed with the Christians in Khartoum.

The MC introduced the fifteen bishops one by one and thanked them for having taken the opportunity to be with the faithful as one strong body of Sudan Catholic Bishop Conference. He congratulated, in a special manner the Cardianl Gabriel Zubeir Wako of Khartoum Diocese and Bishop Vincent Mojwok Nyiker of Malakal Dioces for having reached forty four years of priestly service. The representative of the lay Christians, Ustaz Daniel Khamis gave a word of thanks to the Bishops for all the efforts they have exerted during the war time to shepherd the Christians in the Sudan without fear of the threats, arrests and the prosecutions some of them went through. He encouraged them to continue with that spirit for the fruitful time of peace so that they help the nation in the process of healing and reconciliation. The chairperson of the parish council of St. Mathew Cathedral urged the faithful to stand behind the Bishops so that they can together realize the African Bishops synod visions for peace and development in the continent, starting with the Sudan.

Then the mass started with confession of the sins and followed by the glorification of the redeeming power of God the creator, Jesus the Christ and the Holy Spirit, now and in the world to come. The word of God was about how God rewarded patriarch Abraham by giving Sarah his wife a baby boy because of the work of kindness he served some unknown three visitors with. The sermon was given by His Emminence, Gabriel Cardinal Zubeir Wako with the main message that there cannot be salvation without cross. He remembered the hard times they went through when the foreign missionaries were expelled by the Khartoum regime in 1964, and he also recalled the hard times all the Bishops, priests, religious and faithful of the Sudan went through during the time of the war before the CPA, both in the North and South of the Country. He said that the Bishops of the Sudan, though few, succeeded in the mission of Christ because they did not depend on their own self-interested calculation, but rather on the will of God and His guidance. He said that the Bishops were not superhamans but were only simple human beings like the rest of the human kinds but empowered by the grace of God to do great jobs. He closed his homely by praising ?alleluhia? to all the bishops, religious and lay peoples for the good work they did in the name of Jesus in the Sudan. Then came the celebration of the Eucharist and it was made very lively by the dancers and choirs through the African Sudanese cultural diverse tastes. Everyone present could feel that the Lord is indeed in their midst and within their hearts, minds and souls. At the end of the Mass, Bishop Vincent Mojwok was given a chance to say a word to the faithful and he told them that he would which that the lord grant him, Zubeir and other aging Bishops and additional sixty years so that they can continue serving the flock of Christ. He urged all the Christians to live their faith to the full and not to hesitate and live it with double standards. He warned the Southern Sudanese that tribalism is not going to help the nation to realize true peace and development. He urged the faithful to encourage their sons and daughters to join the priestly and religious live so that the ecclesiastical mission of the Church continues without shortages of evangelizers. He admitted that forty years of service seems short but not easy to attain; it needs constant prayers for each other. Lastly, came the word of the Chairman of the Sudan Cathoilc Bishop Conference, His Lordship, Paulino Lokudo, and the Arch Bishop of Juba Diocese. He conveyed millions thousand of congratulation for his colleagues who attained forty four years of priestly service. He thanked all the Bishops, priests, religious and the lay people for the continuous prayers in the hard and soft times in the Sudan. ?Though dispersed in the war time?, he said, ?all the Bishops were united and thus were strong.? He told the faithful that the same unity is going to continue, which is signified by their continuous meetings like the one taking place in Kober whose resolution shall be made public after they are through with the final discussion and deliberations next week. ?After having conducted our meetings and conferences outside the Sudan for about twenty years of the time of the war, we are happy these days that we do it in our country now, and it is good for some Bishops who have never stepped into Khartoum to see it.? He said that Sudan need more than twelve bishops and this will not be realized until the old Bishops give way to the new one to be ordained and until the faithful send their sons and daughters to the seminaries, noviciates and convents for training, ordination and Church mission in the Sudan. He told the gathering that the power of the Bishops and of the whole church depends on the power of the faithful to support their church in its evangelization and pastoral activities. The mass closed with jubilant thanksgiving songs and dances.

The twelve Sudanese Bishops and their friends, the two Bishops from America have started their meetings and deliberation last week on 17^th July 2007 in the Theological Section of St. Paul?s major Seminary in Kober near the embassy of Vatican in Khartoum. Among the issues they are discussing is the crisis of Darfur. Their meeting shall end on 27^th of their month.