The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, on Thursday, paid a one-day visit to Rumbek town of Lakes State to encourage peace and unity in the area.
Cardinal arrived in South Sudan on Monday for a four-day working visit. Parolin’s visit is a follow-up to the Pope’s recent visit to the capital Juba.
Speaking upon his arrival in Rumbek town, Cardinal Parolin said:”I would like to send you my joy for being here and to share with you the holy mass. I want to thank Bishop Christian Carlassare, the principal, religious leaders, women, men, seminarians, catechists, and civil authorities in Rumbek.”
The visiting religious leader urged the people of Lakes State to embrace peace and reconciliation. “First of all is dialogue. We should not forget dialogue. We have to stick to each other and explain maybe we have different points of view and ways of thinking but we have to talk and tell each other the way we are thinking. The second thing is the commitment, and it is a time from empty words to action, then the commitment,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Bishop of Rumbek Diocese, Christian Carlassare, said:”I don’t want to be too long but what does it mean for us this visit today? When we see Cardinal Pietro coming to visit with the delegation, it shows that the face of the church, which is so beautiful today, it includes all of us.”
“We are in Rumbek, in the church in Rumbek; we are not alone, closed with walls in our own kingdom. We are an open diocese, open to the universal church and we are part of it. So it is so beautiful to be part of the universal church, the Catholic church that includes the faces of so many people and it is beautiful we are in the service,” he added.
For his part, Lakes State Governor Gen. Rin Tueny Mabor appreciated the Catholic Church for preaching the word of God and providing education opportunities in the country.
“On behalf of the government and people of Lakes State, we welcome your eminence to Rumbek, the capital of Lakes State. The Catholic church has been instrumental in our communities for a very long time giving the word of God and providing the much-needed education and health services,” he said.
“It was a big commitment from the Vatican to peace, including hosting peace talks between non-signatory groups with the government in Rome,” he said. “To conclude, the Catholic Church, for a long time, has been preaching the word of God, Unity, and reconciliation in the Diocese of Rumbek and in the country at large. So we thank you so much for that,” he concluded.