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Catholic Church Sees Popular Desire for an Independent South

Catholic Information Service for Africa (Nairobi)
NEWS
4 May 2007
Posted to the web 4 May 2007
Juba
The president of Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference, Archbishop Paulino Lokudu
Loro, has said south Sudanese must look for new leaders who cherish the
aspiration of south Sudanese for separation.
Speaking on national census and election at the closing session of a two-day
workshop on Justice and Peace at Catholic Relief Service Center in Juba,
Archbishop Loro said it was "regrettable that the masses of southern Sudan are
not being adequately educated on the vital exercises of the national census
that would pave way for proper planning and effective development of the
marginalized areas of the Sudan."
According to the Sudan Tribune, Archbishop Loro said the current situation in
southern Sudan required unity of purpose from all the people especially during
the time of national census.
The National Population Census scheduled for November 9, 2007 is considered
important for the distribution of political constituencies, power-sharing,
wealth-sharing and services provision to the Sudanese people, the Tribune says.
Archbishop Loro challenged southern political leaders to come to the defence of
people's aspiration for separation, rather than misleading them by making unity
attractive to a people who have been marginalized for more than fifty years.
The workshop organized by the National Justice and Peace Commission of the
Catholic Bishop's Conference recommended that the government create stability
in southern Sudan to achieve better results of the national census. South
Sudanese churches were also asked to participate actively in civic education.
It was also recommended that the Church be involved in information and
publicity to ensure proper use of census funds to enlighten rural people.
South Sudanese churches should call for south-south dialogue to forge unity of
south Sudanese people and lobby friendly countries in Africa and worldwide to
support the cause of south Sudanese for a free and independent state.
The Comprehensive Peace Agreement that ended more than 20 years of civil war in
southern Sudan provided for a referendum in 2011 to decide on unity or
separation of the region from Sudan.

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