A Catholic bishop has urged South Sudanese not to lose hope, as 2023 would be a better year for the country and its citizens.

The world's youngest nation has been confronting a multi-year flood that is exacerbating already high levels of hunger caused by conflicts and the global food crisis.

On 4 August 2022, parties to the 2018 peace agreement signed on to a further two-year extension of the governance arrangements, postponing elections until late 2024. 

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, the Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Juba, Stephen Ameyu, said South Sudanese should be hopeful and change their hearts for God to intervene.

“The message of Christmas this year says we have to change our hearts, if we change our hearts, then God will bring hope, not despair. And it is on this line that we see this message of change, of conversion embodied by what we call hope and change,” he said.

 “We have a lot of displacements, we have a lot of disasters, and these disasters should not leave us in despair, let us always hope that God is with us and will continue to sustain us in our difficulties,” he added.

The religious leader, however, expressed frustrations with the political leaders for not demonstrating political will to change the country.

 “In my short moment of service for the church, I had witnessed a lot of stressful situations, a lot of killings, a lot of destruction, and I have visited places, and whenever I ask people where the problem is, they always say, the problem is in Juba,” Bishop Ameyu said.” Why cannot we really change this situation of destruction and killings?” He asked.

Bishop Ameyu said the situation will not change, and God will not intervene unless the people of South Sudan change their hearts.

 “Unless we change our hearts, we will never change the situation in South Sudan. I am confident that God is with those who are suffering, and God one day will bring us peace even without any intervention from anybody,” he concluded.