The South Sudan Council of Churches, which is representing the Christian Churches of South Sudan, is in Rome for consultations with Sant'Egidio. After being received by Pope Francis, the Council expressed in a press conference its willingness to support the peace process in the country. It even asked the Community to facilitate the path to reconciliation with new initiatives, which will be soon developed.
The secretary of the Council (Father James Oyet Latansio), who represents all the Christian Churches in South Sudan, told Sant'Egidio: "We thank the Community for hosting us and sharing our consultation. We discussed how to achieve peace for our people, how to get to the end of a war between brothers that has cost pain and poverty and has caused millions of refugees along with several casualties." Father James also recounted the affection with which Pope Francis had welcomed the delegation to the Vatican a few hours earlier: "It was not a protocol meeting: we talked about our country, prayed together, and wished for the achievement of peace. The Pope has our situation at heart and he conveyed again his desire to visit South Sudan by being close in this way to the suffering people. We are waiting to know when he will come."
Mauro Garofalo pledged Sant'Egidio's support for the peace procedure "through a close collaboration between the Council of Churches and the Community. This will allow for the development of new joint endeavors."
