The Speaker of the Revitalised Transitional National Legislative Assembly Rt. Hon. Jemma Nunu Kumba on Sunday apologized for the government’s failure to live up to the people’s expectation of bringing peace and stability to the country.
Nunu spoke on behalf of President Salva Kiir during the ordination of the new Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Torit, Emmanuel Bernandhino Lowi.
“I know we, the government, have not lived up to the expectations of the church to bring stability and peace and on this note, I also ask the church to forgive us and continue to support us in our mission to bring peace and stability in our country,” she said.
Speaker Nunu also announced President Kiir’s pledge of SSP 10 million and one Toyota Land Cruiser V6 vehicle to the Catholic Diocese of Torit.
“As I came, the president also gave his message in terms of support for the office of the new Bishop and when I go back to Juba, we are going to send from the office of the president a Land Cruiser V6 to help the Bishop as he starts his work and an amount of SSP 10 million for his work in the Diocese,” she said.
Last year, President Kiir pledged SSP 15 million and a vehicle during centenary celebrations of the Catholic Diocese of Torit but it was not fulfilled.
The newly ordained Bishop Emmanuel Bernarnhino Lowi thanked the congregation and church for giving him a warm welcome and appealed to the people to work together for peace.
“From the day of my reception up to now, your presence has been gratifying and I am honored. Your presence is also a challenge to me and the presence of all these Bishops, my brother priests, all of you sisters, and others is a challenge because it shows you are counting on me,” he said. “When somebody counts on you and comes from a very long distance to celebrate with you, the message is that they expect better things to happen.”
On his part, Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako called for unity and urged the people to shun greed for wealth and political power.
“We are praying that after this ordination, let a sense of unity come back in the hands of faithful and not from political or money power but from the power of Jesus Christ who died on the cross to bring salvation to us all,” he said. “This is a big task given to us all and although we see ourselves as poor people, it is we who can unite the whole country, and we can unite the whole world if we take the message of Jesus Christ seriously.”
Meanwhile, the Archbishop of the Catholic Diocese of Juba, Dr. Stephen Ameyu Martin Mulla, expressed joy and urged the priests and the faithful to cooperate with and accord respect to the new Bishop.
“I stand here to express my joy for our new Bishop, the Bishop of Torit. I would like to say all of us have come to welcome him to his seat,” Archbishop Ameyu said. “Your eminence, here present today are people from all the parishes of the Diocese of Torit and they have come to thank God for giving us this minister, this shepherd.”