Our vision for a peaceful and just South Sudan has been shattered, say bishops – and why have we been excluded from peace talks?

The bishops of Sudan and South Sudan, who continue to operate as a single bishops’ conference since secession by the South in 2011, said the two-and-a-half-year-old nation is caught in “a time of crisis, perhaps one of the gravest situations we have ever faced”. The bishops were meeting in Juba, the South Sudanese capital, from 22 to 29 January. They blamed the rising tensions on poor governance, corruption and nepotism and stressed the ceasefire signed on 23 January must be obeyed. Read their full statement below: The Catholic bishops of Sudan and South Sudan, meeting in Extraordinary Plenary assembly of the Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference in Juba, South Sudan, from 21st to 31st January 2014, address this Pastoral Exhortation to the people of the two nations and to