A new statement from Catholic bishops of South Sudan warns of spreading violence, displacement, and a dangerous absence of dialogue.
As Sudan’s war grinds on with little international attention, Catholic bishops in the region are sounding an alarm that is both urgent and deeply personal. Both Sudan and South Sudan are suffering conflict, with the northern country's war spilling over into the world's youngest nation.
In a recent communiqué, the bishops of South Sudan describe a country unraveling under renewed fighting, displacement, hunger, and political paralysis.
Issued at the end of January, the statement condemns the escalation of violence between government forces and armed opposition groups, particularly in Jonglei and Eastern Equatoria. Civilians, the bishops insist, are once again paying the highest price. Communities are being uprooted, livelihoods destroyed, and fear normalized as daily life .
The bishops also note that they have repeatedly warned political leaders — twice in 2025 alone — that dialogue is being deliberately sidelined.
War, they argue, has become the default response to disagreement, even as it deepens division and suffering. “Do you have this country and its people in your hearts,” they ask pointedly, “or are you only concerned with the pursuit of power and wealth?”
How to pray for Sudan
St. Josephine Bakhita, revered as the patron saint of Sudan, who endured slavery and responded with forgiveness, pray for peace and healing.
St. Daniel Comboni, missionary bishop who died in Khartoum and loved Sudan’s people as his own, pray for courage and reconciliation.
Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for Sudan and South Sudan.
Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy.
Readers can also offer a simple intention: For an end to violence, for the protection of civilians, and for leaders willing to choose dialogue over war.
The communiqué paints a bleak picture of consequences already unfolding: displacement, hunger, armed robbery, and growing insecurity even in cities once considered safe. The bishops also express alarm at the role of social media in amplifying hate speech and tribal incitement, warning that reckless rhetoric is translating directly into violence on the ground.
Particularly striking is their condemnation of alleged orders to “spare no lives,” which they describe as a direct threat to innocent civilians. Such language, they insist, cannot be excused or ignored. It corrodes the moral fabric of society and pushes the country further from reconciliation.
The statement is accusatory yet also pastoral. Again and again, the bishops return to the conviction that peace cannot be imposed militarily. Citizens, they remind leaders, are not property. They are human beings who long for freedom, safety, and dignity.
Echoing the late Pope Francis, the bishops call for an end to war, bloodshed, and mutual recrimination — and for the courage to choose dialogue, even when it feels costly.
The communiqué closes with an appeal that goes beyond politics. The bishops urge clergy, religious, and all people of goodwill to dedicate this time to prayer for peace, insisting that South Sudan is “home for a thousand generations to come.”
War, they imply, is not inevitable, but indifference is.
