海角大神

Wearing an immaculate white cassock, Catholic Bishop Paride Taban strides through the mud and tents of the Jebel displaced persons camp in South Sudan鈥檚 capital Juba on a recent聽Sunday.

The camp is hardly sacred ground: thousands of ethnic Nuer live here under United Nations peacekeeper protection in fear of Dinka soldiers outside. But Bishop Taban is here to conduct mass anyway.

鈥淭he church is to be with the suffering people, wherever in the world,鈥� the 78-year-old bishop says.

Taban has no trouble crossing South Sudan鈥檚 ethnic lines to preach on Sundays. That鈥檚 because in South Sudan, church leaders are held in higher esteem than perhaps anyone else.

They earned that position through fifty years of struggle. During South Sudan鈥檚 long wars for independence from the hardline Islamist government in Khartoum, Sudan, priests and pastors brought humanitarian relief to civilians聽during聽the heaviest fighting. They lobbied the international community to support the southern cause, and, crucially, brokered peace between communities torn apart by war and ethnic strife.

Yet in South Sudan鈥檚 latest civil war,聽which just entered its second year, church leaders have been unable to seriously influence politicians and generals. Instead, they鈥檝e been attacked by militants, sidelined at聽peace talks, and silenced at home.

It鈥檚 a shocking change for South Sudan, a country whose existence in many people鈥檚 minds is founded on the idea of religious freedom for 海角大神s, who form the vast majority of the population.聽Now, church leaders are saying they have to escalate their efforts to be a neutral, trusted force that can bring politicians in line, and lead the divided populace to reconciliation.

'Dry bones' and 'grasshoppers'

South Sudan鈥檚 latest war began December 2013 when government troops began massacring Nuer in the capital, Juba. In response, the national army, called the Sudan People鈥檚 Liberation Army聽(SPLA), split along ethnic lines and a violent uprising began in the country鈥檚 northeast, pitting Dinka loyal to President Salva Kiir against Nuer led by聽former vice president聽Riek Machar. Both sides have committed horrific atrocities.

From the start, church leaders were shards of light in a grim conflict. Priests, pastors, and nuns protected civilians from extremists on either side, at times standing up to armed men with little more than a cross necklace for protection.

Yet in Juba and聽in flashpoint towns聽of Bor and Malakal,聽which saw some of the heaviest fighting, churches or clergy came under attack. Priests were murdered, and in some instances, civilians were slaughtered in churches where they sought refuge.聽The Presbyterian church alone lost nine clergy.聽By May, civilians were leaving church compounds, saying they no longer felt safe inside.

鈥淚n this situation, like in Rwanda, the blood of the tribe has become thicker than the blood of the Christ,鈥� says Episcopal Bishop Enock Tombe, who leads a religious delegation at the peace talks.

By聽mid-year, as the fighting died down with the onset of rains, so did direct violence against churches. But another problem arose. The churches could not get their voices heard.

The warring parties refused church participation in peace negotiations until June, and repeatedly boycotted the talks afterward to avoid religious groups and other non-armed actors from聽participating.

In government-controlled聽areas, Catholic radio stations have been censored and shut down, with staff thrown in jail. There are reports of rebel hardliners threatening or even attacking pastors preaching moderation in their areas.

Government security agents even attempted to shut down a Catholic church-led peace march in Juba yesterday to mark the war鈥檚 first anniversary.

But聽the attacks have not stopped South Sudan's religious leaders from speaking out,though. Clergy have condemned the violence in increasingly militant terms, labeling the fighting 鈥渆vil,鈥� calling the country鈥檚 leaders 鈥渄ry bones鈥� in need of spiritual renewal.聽They鈥檝e urged聽civilians not to follow the warlords like 鈥渃attle,鈥澛燼nd lamented that politicians view those who die as 鈥渏ust grasshoppers,鈥� not caring.

Meanwhile, other leaders like Taban鈥攌nown for his non-judgmental approach to peacebuilding in previous wars鈥攈ave used more conciliatory approaches, attempting to consult and advise.

But the politicians have not changed course.

鈥淗as it fallen in a dead ear?鈥� asks Taban, who says he has been trying for months to have a private聽meeting聽with President Kiir without success.

鈥淭he political leaders think that their side of the story is always correct they don鈥檛 want contradiction,鈥� says Bishop Tombe. 鈥淸They ask us], why do you speak as if you are with the rebels?鈥�

Losing focus?

To some, the churches鈥� struggle to be heard is a sign of their weakened influence since the last war. John Ashworth, a longtime adviser to South Sudan鈥檚 churches, says clergy are less united than during the long wars as each denomination has focused on rebuilding their own churches since peace in 2005.

Important clergy left the cloth altogether when presented with more worldly opportunities in peacetime. 鈥淪ome of our good people; because of money, salaries they join the government,鈥� Taban says.

Others simply lost focus. At a recent synod of one church in Juba, the main issue on the agenda was not peace, but pornography.

But to others, the disrespect for the church by top politicians is a sign of a deeper problem, one that strikes at the heart of the nation鈥檚 accepted history.

South Sudan鈥檚 independence struggle was often considered a fight for religious freedom for the mostly 海角大神 south against the Islamist government in Khartoum.

SPLA propaganda perpetuates this story, referring to the churchgoing President Kiir, for instance, as the 鈥淛oshua鈥� who took South Sudan to the promised land of independence after the 2005 death of the 鈥淢oses,鈥� SPLA founder John Garang.

But this story never accorded with the facts. The SPLA began as a Marxist-influenced movement backed by Ethiopian Communists. Taban points out that during the long war, the SPLA 鈥� ostensibly fighting for southerners like him 鈥� imprisoned him for 100 days after he broke through a siege to bring food聽to聽civilians under their attack.

Tombe says the atrocities of the latest war fully explode the myth of the SPLA as 海角大神 liberators.

鈥淭hese politicians cannot claim [to be 海角大神],鈥� he says. 鈥淓ven if they go to church聽on Sunday聽they are not guided by 海角大神 values only. They may be 海角大神 by name, but 海角大神 values have not really penetrated.鈥�