Sudan’s bishops balk at indictment of nation’s president

March 12, 2009

Following the indictment of Sudanese President Omar Hassan Ahmad Al-Bashir by the International Criminal Court, Bishop Rudolf Deng Majak of Wau, president of the Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference, said that Bashir’s arrest would not bring peace to the ravaged nation. “Whatever happens now,” added Auxiliary Bishop Daniel Adwok of Khartoum, “the people should be treated justly. We are asking ourselves ‘Who will defend the rights of Christians in our country?’” General Al-Bashir was indicted because of the genocide in Darfur, in which Arab Muslim Janjaweed militias have killed some 300,000 black African Muslims in the nation’s western region. Darfur, however, is not the only conflict that has plagued the nation of 40 million: Bishop Adwok alluded to the long civil war (1983-2005), which claimed the lives of two million, between the Muslim north and the largely animist and Christian south. The civil war ended when Al-Bashir granted the south limited autonomy. Since 2005, the nation’s five million Catholics have fallen under two sets of religion laws. In the north, all schools-- even Christian schools-- must offer instruction in Islam, and converts from Islam to Christianity face not only criminal charges but also death at the hands of their families. In the south, on the other hand, Christians enjoy religious freedom.

“We urge people around the world to pray for us,” said Bishop Adwok. “Sudan has entered into a critical moment in her history.”

 

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Further information:

• Sudan: Catholic Church Says Bashir Arrest Won’t Bring Peace (CISA)
• Sudan: Bishop speaks out after warrant for President's arrest (Aid to the Church in Need)
• Standoff over Sudan president could drag on (AP)