The Attempted Coup to the Roman Catholic Church: The Revelation of Original Sin Among BC Elders of the Arch Diocese of Juba

December 19, 2019 Opinions, Religion

Opinion,

By Lujang John

Bishop Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla ( Photo credit: Radio Bakhita)

December 19th, 2019 (SSNN)-The long awaited Metropolitan Arch Bishop Paolino Lukudo Loro retirement happens at last with a very bad legacy after leaving power of attempted coup by chief Lucifer and few angels spearheaded by Commander Arch Angel Michael. The news of his Retirement was as silence jubilation from the marginalized catholic groups of the Arch Diocese of Juba from his 4 decades of segregation pastoral governance. Lukudu was appointed archbishop of Juba on 19 February 1983 and serves in this office up to 12th December, 2019. According to the customs of the Church, at the age of 75 years he was supposed to submit resignation to the pope which of course he did in 2015, but his resignation letter to the pope was denied as he was asked to continue in the office until new bishops for three of his suffragan dioceses i.e. Torit, Malakal and Rumbek, whose sees have been vacant for many years and until have been found. As a result the suffragan dioceses got their bishops and the loving and non-Tribalistic Diocese of Torit got the pastoral leader in the person of Rev. Fr. Dr. Stephen Ameyu who was appointed Bishop of Torit on 3rd January, 2019 and ordained Bishop of Torit on 3rd March, 2019. Bishop Stephen Ameyu because of his unique character and quality and also called it due to the power of the Holy Ghost, the pope also appointed him Arch Bishop of Arch Diocese of Juba on 12th December, 2019, two posts in Just a year, definitely the devils and the chief Lucifer will be jealous of him and conspire to overthrow him using the popular Junubin well pronounced vocabulary “Attempted Coup”.

What is really the quintessence issue in the appointment of non-indigenous Arch Bishop Stephen Ameyu for Juba Arch Diocese? The answer is simple- the original sin among the elders of BC. The real combined forces that looks like that of Plato Republic, Professors, Doctors, MPs and Civil Engineers wrote a fearsome letter charging the Vatican’s chargé d’affaires in South Sudan for bribery and alleged Arch Bishop Stephen Ameyu with 6 children. The rest just follow as the dictum states” When one fly smells bad odour the rest of the flies will follow the same direction without cognition. Here the Lucifer was chief coup plotter and the manufacturer of original sin in the Arch Diocese of Juba among the BC elders. I’m happy that the youth of BC also stand with the rest of the faithful against the Lucifer bribed group. Do not fear Arch Bishop Stephen Ameyu that maybe he will revenge in giving appointments the way he spent 20 years in Seminary without portfolio but only offers teaching. He is the truly chosen son of God and will respond to the plea of the marginalized faithful in the jurisdiction of Arch Diocese of Juba who were denied diocesan status by the former regime. Fearsome things like the appointment of Arch Bishop Stephen Ameyu as Aristotle put it are necessarily things that appear to be harmful, because fear is by definition a pain or disturbance due to the appearance of imminent danger. Prof. Paul Lodu Bureng et al, do not fear of religious appointment focus instead on your Advisory role to the Governor of Jubek State, R-peace agreement, Unity of South Sudan etc.

Now, let me invite Prof. Paul Lodu Bureng and the whole team who appended to the documents to the purgatory for workshop on:

Appointment of Bishops/Arch Bishops: The appointment of bishops in the Catholic Church is a complicated process not like that of government where you lobby for positions. The group of people who involved I can say in vetting process include: Outgoing bishops , neighbouring bishops, the faithful, the apostolic nuncio, various members of the Roman Curia, and the pope all have a role in the selection. The exact process varies based upon a number of factors, including whether the bishop is from the Latin Church or one of the Eastern Catholic Churches, the geographic location of the diocese, what office the candidate is being chosen to fill, and whether the candidate has previously been ordained to the episcopate.
Reasons for opposing appointment of Bishop Ameyu: The letter obtained by CAN gave three reasons for opposing the appointment, charging that government officials and some Juba priests had conspired to promote Ameyu as archbishop for personal interests, and had influenced a Vatican diplomat to that end; that a local priest could have been appointed; and alleging that Ameyu has fathered at least six children. The BC Elders wrote that Ameyu “will not be accepted to serve as Archbishop of Juba under any circumstance.” Reminding on the situation that occurred in December 2012 appointment of a bishop from a neighboring diocese and was rejected by the people of Ahiara tribe in Nigeria. These accusations and comparisons are null and void. Read John 8:7, he who did not sin let him or her be the first to throw the blames to the righteous man of God Arch Bishop Stephen Ameyu!
Universality of the Church: The appointment of Bishops is universal without ethnic affiliation and localized mental slavery. Wake up! Understand this point succinctly. Retired Arch Bishop Paolino Lukudu Loro, a Bari was appointed as Bishop of El Obeid on 5 March 1979, and served for five years without opposition and tribal sentiments. Bishop Erkolano Lado Tombe, a Bari was Consecrated Bishop of Yei on 28th November, 1986 and will soon also retire and Late Bishop Caesar Mazzolari , Italian Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Rumbek who succumbed to illness and died after South Sudan got Independence without tribal sentiments from the Dinka Aggar. Elders of BC confess your original sin and note that there are no tribalism in the Church.
Understand Canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law and Centralization of Papal Power. As I already mentioned in the introductory part about retirement at age of 75; Canon 401 of the Code of Canon Law states that archdiocesan/diocesan bishops (including cardinals) “are requested to” submit their resignation to the pope on reaching the age of 75 years. … Vacancy of a see may occur also because of a bishop’s transfer to another see or position, or because of his death. Understand this code of Canon Law as an enlighten that the resignation of your brother and succession from someone from Torit is in the order of Catholic Faith. Go back to Catechumen class and learn the litany well. Further still, the 1917 Code of Canon Law affirms that in the Latin Church, the decision of appointing a Bishop rests with the pope. Please visit the pontiff and perhaps kiss his feet for the forgiveness of your original sins
Example of Unifying Diocese of Torit (DOT): There is no any Diocese on earth as that of DOT through the leadership of Emeritus Bishop Paride Taban who managed to inspired young people on love, embrace unity in diversity. For the elders of BC to know: Anybody who hails from DOT should be welcomed with love because it was the only Diocese that educated all the 64 South Sudanese who happened to be in liberated areas and joined for priestly formation without segregation and ethnicity. Majority of us who were child soldiers during the liberation war were accommodated and educated by the DOT. The 1990s trekked of Seminarians from Juba and majority from Arch Diocese of Juba could not go down in history. I also happened to be one who took the exodus and was sent by the SPLA commander because of teenage age to go for studies and that happened to be none other than in DOT. Those elder ones majority from Juba were first recruited and fought but all were accommodated in DOT. There are even Bari priests ordained and currently serving under DOT, though majority of us are for fulfilment mission of Genesis 1:28; it is a genuine testimony from one who held from Arch Diocese of Juba. Can you emulate the spirit of DOT?
Matthew 22:21 Jesus said “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s; and to God the things that are God’s.” The BC elders who appended to the Document to the purgatory majority are Advisor to the Governor, Town Engineer, MP at SSNLA- TGoNU, community elder plus Msg of Scripture and Prof. of Theology at St. Paul National Major Seminary. It is self- explanatory feeling of everlasting domination. Their letter reads that the clerics and laymen of Juba indicated that they had written to the congregation Dec. 10 asking for “dialogue over the serious allegations raised against Bishop Stephen Ameyu.” It continues “Given the genuine concerns based on the legitimate issues cited in our memo, we had honestly expected the suspension of the announcement, until further investigation can be conducted on the matter,” they wrote. “Now that the misled Vatican has arrogantly ignored our concerns by choosing the path of undue confrontation, we have no other option than to respond with proportional means.”

First, what does the town engineer has to do with Church issue? Has he being called for Architectural design of the historical church at Kondokoro? What is the dual advisory role of Prof. Paul Lodu Bureng to the Governor of Jubek as well as the Arch Diocese of Juba? Is the community elder a catechist or just an elder for the sake of making the readers understand the wider views of complainants? What constituent issue is the MP representing in the affairs of the Church than providing update to his constituency on the reasons of impeachment of Rt. Hon. Speaker and perhaps future dissolution of the August House?

To the seminary Profs. Do the Profs of both Scripture and Theology at the Seminary forget that the Institution they are in is non-sectarian, non-tribalistic and house for all God’s People? Both the elderly priests at the seminary deserve to be ex-communicated and join politics comes 12th February, 2020. The Prof. Paul Lodu Bureng and the Engineer deserve to replace the two Profs at the Seminary to teach Stoicism and Epicureanism. The elder representative deserves to be appointment as Head Catechist of St. Joseph Parish.

Finally, changes surely are happening in South Sudan. I can now attest to the undisclosed Prophesy of TB Joshua of the new thing that will happen in South Sudan after his historic visit. He came to Juba on 12th November, on 12th December, one prophesy has now come true. Long awaited Arch Bishop resigned and new Arch Bishop appointed to Arch Diocese of Juba on 12 Dec. On ward on 12 January, something will also happen again and then 12 February, bigger ones will happen. Happy are those who are rejected, insulted because of doing the right things of God, the Kingdom of Arch Diocese of Juba is theirs. Let the star that shines from the East, shines brighter to the West, North and South.
Bravo! Bravo! Arch Bishop Stephen Ameyu, Umo bebe, owon olum ono oyoi. The whole Ex- Seminarians from different tribes of South Sudan stand for you and we are making a u- turn for yet another reformed celibate life in the Roman Catholic Church.

The author is a South Sudanese citizen, and lives in Kampala.

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