South Sudan and the ‘Pilgrims of Peace’

Citizens of the world’s youngest nation will welcome the head of one of the world’s oldest international institutions this week when Pope Francis visits South Sudan.

The Pope is joining the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, and the Church of Scotland Moderator, Iain Greenshields, on an “ecumenical pilgrimage of peace”. The first stop will be the Democratic Republic of Congo.

The three church leaders will use the visit to the two conflict-ridden countries to “plead for peace in both lands”, America magazine said, and “hopes are high among the people there that [the] visit may kick-start the struggling peace processes in both countries”.

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Clash of ideologies

Overshadowing the trip, however, is a clash of ideologies, especially on questions around LGBT rights in South Sudan, a country that was born in 2011 when it gained independence from predominantly Muslim Sudan.

Before the visit, Pope Francis and the archbishop of Canterbury have both “risked angering local political and church leaders”, The Guardian said, with comments about same-sex relationships that “contrast with deeply conservative views that predominate in South Sudan”.

The Pope has said that laws that criminalise homosexuality are unjust and has pledged that the Catholic Church will campaign against them. Sexual activity between men is illegal in South Sudan and punishable with sentences of up to 14 years’ imprisonment, though as The Guardian noted, there is little evidence of those laws being enforced in recent years.

Welby, too, recently said he was “extremely joyful” at the prospect of Church of England clergy blessing couples in same-sex marriages, although he added that he himself will not deliver those blessings.

Responding to his comments, the head of the Anglican church in South Sudan, Archbishop Justin Badi Arama, said Welby was “failing to defend biblical truth”, and his role as moral leader of the global church had been “severely jeopardised”.

Catholicism on the rise in Africa

For Catholics and Anglicans alike, the visit comes at a critical juncture. Most of the current growth in the Anglican church is coming from sub-Saharan Africa. Similarly, Catholicism is witnessing its fastest ever growth in Africa, with recent statistics showing a 2.1% rise between 2019 and 2020.

In recognition of this trend, the Pope “has often spoken of giving Africa a voice in the church and in the world”, said Stan Chu Ilo, a research professor in world Christianity and African studies at DePaul University in Chicago, on The Conversation.

Yet many wonder how successful this effort will be given that African representation within the Vatican has dropped to a 30-year low and “there are many African Catholics, particularly high-ranking church leaders, who are yet to embrace [Francis’s] reform agenda”, Ilo said.

Welby, meanwhile, faces “African anger” as he prepares for the trip, according to The Times. His commitment to backing blessings for gay couples was branded “alienating” by the Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches, a traditionalist group that claims to represent 75% of the world’s 80 million Anglicans.

Those criticisms “were led by the Most Rev Justin Badi Arama”, the paper said – the very person who is due to host Welby during the South Sudanese leg of his trip.

Spirit of forgiveness

Despite the controversies, the visit is expected to be an emotional one. In an address to a festival in Belfast last year, Archbishop Welby spoke in moving terms about a retreat he attended in Rome with South Sudan’s warring factions, The Tablet reported.

The retreat ended with Pope Francis bending down to kiss the feet of the South Sudanese leaders in an appeal for them to pursue peace. When he did so, Welby said, “I could see tears running down their faces. Tears were running down every face there, including the BBC cameraman.”

Those tears may prove portentous. Last week, Charles Tai Gituai, head of South Sudan’s Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission – an oversight body established to track implementation of the country’s peace agreement – said that despite the controversies, there is great hope for the trip.

“I hope… the people of South Sudan will find inspiration and a spirit of forgiveness in these visits in order to renew public confidence in the peace process,” Gituai said.

This article first appeared in The Week’s Global Digest newsletter. Sign up for a preview of the international news agenda, sent to your inbox every Monday.