It was truly an ecumenical pilgrimage with Church of England Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby and with the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Moderator Iain Greenshields. This gesture of ecumenism is so needed in our world.
But what struck me even more personally was the site of the Mass, the mausoleum of John Garang, the “father of South Sudan.”
When I was a campus minister at St. Thomas Aquinas Church in Ames, Iowa, which was also the Catholic Student Center of Iowa State University, I was impressed by the number of students and families from South Sudan who were members of our parish. There are still many in Ames.
John Garang got a Ph.D. in Economics at Iowa State University in 1981, before I began ministry at St. Thomas.
I pray that the visit of the pope and the other religious leaders further inspires the courageous people of South Sudan in their pursuit of peace with justice.
As Pope Francis said in his homily,
"Jesus knows your anguish and the hope you bear in your hearts, the joys and struggles that mark your lives, the darkness that assails you and the faith that, like a song in the night, you raise to heaven. Jesus knows you and loves you. If we remain in him, we must never fear, because for us too, every cross will turn into a resurrection, every sadness into hope, and every lament into dancing."
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Here is the full text of the Pope’s homily.
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