Pope Francis knelt at the feet of the leaders of South Sudan and kissed them. He begged them to give peace a chance and to be worthy “fathers of the nation.”
“I am asking you as a brother to stay in peace. I am asking you with my heart, let us go forward. There will be many problems, but do not be afraid.”
President Salva Kiir and his rival, the former rebel leader Riek Machar, clashed in 2013 leading to a civil war that left 400,000 people dead.
He said, “You have begun a process, may it end well. There will be disagreements among you, but may they take place ‘in the office. While in front of your people, you hold hands. In this way, you will be transformed from simple citizens to fathers of the nation. The purpose of this retreat is for us to stand together before God and to discern his will,”
He said all these in his formal remarks on April 11. Closing the two-day retreat in the Domus Sanctae Marthae, the Vatican guesthouse.
The retreat participants included South Sudanese President Salva Kiir and four of the nation’s five designated vice presidents. Riek Machar, James Wani Igga, Taban Deng Gai and Rebecca Nyandeng De Mabior. Under the terms of a peace agreement signed in September, the vice presidents were to take office together May 12, sharing power and ending the armed conflict between clans and among communities.
Pope Francis told the politicians and members of the Council of Churches that “peace” was the first word Jesus said to his disciples after the resurrection.
“Peace is the first gift that the Lord brought us, and the first commitment that leaders of nations must pursue. Peace is the fundamental condition for ensuring the rights of each individual and the integral development of an entire people.”
Pope Francis asked the leaders to linger a moment in the mood of the retreat and sense that “we stand before the gaze of the Lord, who is able to see the truth in us and to lead us fully to that truth.” The leaders, he said, should recognize how God loves them, wants to forgive them and calls them to build a country at peace.
Closing his prepared remarks with a prayer, he asked God to “touch with the power of the Spirit the depths of every human heart, so that enemies will be open to dialogue, adversaries will join hands and peoples will meet in harmony.”