The Archbishop of Canterbury has asked for prayers ahead of his ecumenical visit to South Sudan with the Church of Scotland moderator and Pope Francis.
Archbishop Justin Welby said that he joined the Pope and Dr Iain Greenshields, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, “as followers of Jesus, the Prince of Peace, knowing that his Holy Spirit is at work in South Sudan and has the power to transform hearts”.
He said they had “prayed for many years for this visit”, which was first scheduled for last summer but cancelled due to the Pope’s faltering health and mobility problems.
In an interview with the Associated Press published earlier this week, Francis said that “thanks to good therapy and magnetotherapy” his knee had healed without the need for an operation, and that he has started walking again.
He is now due to visit the Democratic Republic of Congo on 31 January, before joining Archbishop Welby and Dr Greenshields in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, for 3-5 February.
In the same interview, Francis condemned “colonialist” attitudes towards Africa, but said that its people “were strengthening more and more in freedom”.
“One of the riches of Africa is intelligence,” he said, adding: “It had a future. However, that future cannot arise because there is also the problem of internal wars between different cultures, not to mention different tribes.”
He also condemned the arms trade, warning that “instead of trying to help ourselves live we try to help ourselves kill”.
Archbishop Welby said that the visit to South Sudan was “a pilgrimage of peace”.
“We come as servants,” he said, “to listen to and amplify the cries of the South Sudanese people, who have suffered so much and continue to suffer because of conflict, devastating flooding, widespread famine, and much more.”
He said that the South Sudanese “have a legacy of powerful witness to their faith” and “have been a sign and instrument of the reconciliation God desires for their whole country and all of creation”.
The archbishop’s wife, Caroline Welby, will accompany her husband on the visit, and described being “humbled” by the stories of the women of South Sudan whom she has met on previous trips.
She said that despite “the trauma of displacement in their own country, [of being] refugees in other countries, sexual violence and the daily fear of mistreatment” they were “incredible women of strength, praising God and coming to Him for refreshment”.
“Women around the world so often bear the scars of conflict in deeply profound, often unseen ways,” said Mrs Welby.
“Women who have brought life into this world, nurtured children and provided spiritual guidance for their communities have the pain of witnessing lives torn apart.”
She continued: “It is powerful when women unite and their voices are heard. It can be the start of healing and restoration.”
At a conference in the Vatican on Thursday, Pope Francis said that “our quest for peace must increasingly involve women”.
He told the conference of “Women Building a Culture of Interreligious Encounter” that because “women bestow care and life upon the world, they are themselves a path towards peace”.
“The Catholic Church is committed to interreligious dialogue,” Francis said, “and to furthering understanding and cooperation among followers of different religious traditions.”
He added: “I am grateful to you for your commitment and effort to foster the dignity of women and girls in particular.”
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