Pope Francis Remembers South Sudan As May 12th Dateline Passes By
Pope Francis, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, blessing South Sudan leaders recently in Vatican(Photo credit: Vatican/SSNN)
Monday, May 13, 2019(SSNN) — Speaking during an international meeting of religious nuns in the Vatican on Friday, the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State, Pope Francis reiterates his closeness and wishes to visit South Sudan, one of the most fragile states in the world.
Pope Francis, the first Jesuit pope in the history of Catholic Church and one of the prominent proponents for peace in South Sudan said he earnestly desires to visit the world’s youngest nation.
Pope’s statement came at a time when South Sudanese and many sympathizers around the world watch another dateline passes by.
On May 12th, the South Sudanese leaders, who recently visited Vatican and met Pope Francis, were expected to form the Transitional National Government of National Unity and work once again together to restore peace, justice and stability; however, that opportunity is now a gone case and a new chapter is opened.
In a meeting mediated by the regional bloc, IGAD, South Sudanese leaders have agreed to extend the Pre-transitional period by another six months to train and unify the warring forces before forming the new government.
Immediately after his return from the Vatican, President Salva Kiir strongly called for the R-TGNU to be formed by May 12th; however, the president later called for one year extension contrary to the six months that were agreed by the parties in Addis Ababa.
A similar agreement collapsed in 2016 due to lack of political will from the warring leaders and it’s yet to be seen if the spiritual will that was recently shown in the Vatican will bring the most needed peace and tranquility.
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