‘Compassion has no nationality’ says bishop in thanks to foreign doctors in South Sudan

Bishop Eduardo Kussala said his experience travelling around his diocese ‘calls me to greater accountability, transparency and generosity with all that has been entrusted to me’.

A South Sudanese bishop expressed his gratitude to Greek doctors caring for the sick in a report on conditions in his diocese.

“With immense gratitude and deep respect, I wish to highlight the extraordinary contribution of the Heart Doctors from Greece,” Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio said in a message to The Tablet.

“You came from far away, crossing borders and cultures, not for gain, but out of love for humanity. You truly lived the apostolate of Jesus Christ by healing the sick, restoring dignity and touching lives across Yambio, Nzara, Ezo, Banduguyo, Rii-Yubu, Ave Maria Ngboko and Tombura as a whole,” he said of the humanitarian organisation.

“Your presence spoke louder than words. You showed that compassion has no nationality and that love is the universal language of peace.”

Bishop Kussala made the statement after travelling across his diocese, despite bad roads and worsening insecurity, to contact Catholics across the territory. He said he saw people bonding together in faith, despite insecurity and poverty, and demonstrating a heightened sense of generosity.

“I witnessed elderly people, children, women and men quietly placing money into my pockets, not from abundance, but from love,” the bishop said.

“This touched me deeply and disciplined my conscience even further. It calls me to greater accountability, transparency and generosity with all that I am and all that has been entrusted to me. You reminded me that leadership must always be worthy of the sacrifices of the poor.”

However, the bishop said his heart was “deeply wounded” when he came face-to-face with the pain and anguish of around 4,000 refugees in Rii-Yubu, in the Equatoria region of South Sudan, where unaccompanied children, women and the elderly live “in extremely distressing conditions”.

“These are our brothers and sisters fleeing cruel violence from the Central African Republic, alongside many returnees escaping similar brutality,” he said, demanding “immediate, coordinated, and humane intervention” from the government, humanitarian agencies, the Church and the international community.

His statement followed an appeal from South Sudan’s bishops for an end to fighting between government forces, militia and other armed groups affecting some parts of the country. The called for all parties to return to dialogue and acknowledge the people’s desire for peace.

Source: https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/compassion-has-no-nationality-says-bishop-in-thanks-to-foreign-doctors-in-south-sudan/