Scottish Cardinal O’Brien Visits Troubled Darfur, Stresses Peace
Jan 30, 2006
They whooped in joy as their battered busses swept into a dusty sports pitch. Then they clambered out to hear Cardinal Keith O’Brien, head of Scotland’s Roman Catholics, lead an ecumenical prayer for peace in Darfur.
(ACT/Caritas) Nyala, South Darfur, 25 January 2006 – More than 2,000 people –women in brightly-coloured toubs, men in pressed shirts, and children - sat in the sun in Nyala, the regional capital of South Darfur, to share in songs and prayers on Sunday evening (22 January).
The first day of the Cardinal’s first trip to the troubled province was marked by a series of events in which he stressed the theme of peace through talks with church delegations in Nyala, through his public meeting with Muslim leaders, and through his address at the ecumenical prayer for peace.
The Cardinal is on a four-day tour of Darfur as part of a ten-day visit to Sudan, accompanied by Paul Chitnis, head of the Catholic Church’s aid organisation in Scotland (SCIAF/Caritas Scotland).
The visit is to see for himself the situation in Sudan on behalf of the Catholic Church and to learn more about the projects that people in Scotland have funded.
Over the coming days, he will be visiting the projects run by the ACT-Caritas relief organisation in the south and west of Darfur and by its church-based partner agencies.
ACT-Caritas is a grouping of Protestant, Catholic, and Orthodox relief agencies from across the globe that have come together to work in Darfur.
After meeting church leaders - many of whom hold key positions in the partner agencies: Sudan Council of Churches, the Sudan Development Organisation, and Sudan Aid – the Cardinal then met dozens of leading Imams.
The General Secretary of Imams, Abdullah Adam Noman, welcomed the Cardinal and spoke of how both faiths speak of respect for other faiths.
He described how people in Sudan – whether Christian or Muslim – lived together.
“We share breakfast. We have Christmas. We eat with them. We share with them. We are living together.”
And he spoke of the troubles in Darfur: “You know very well that in this nation there are killings and differences and a lot of things.”
“The Imams and Sheiks are also suffering,” he said. “Their houses were also burned. Their property destroyed. Their children are also without education.”
In response, the Cardinal told the leaders that when he and Mr Chitnis visited camps for the displaced in Juba, South Sudan and in Khartoum, they did not distinguish between Christians in need and Muslims in need.
He said they simply saw: “A human being, created by Almighty God, who will receive our help.”
The meeting ended with an embrace between the Cardinal and the General Secretary of Imams – a symbolic union of their respective faiths.
Other Imams and other church leaders then embraced on the floor of the hall.
At sunset, the Cardinal was standing at the open-air prayer service and in part of his speech he talked about the G8 summit that took place in the Scottish capital and the campaign to Make Poverty History.
He then urged those at the Darfur meeting to stand and repeat the words after him – until they could chant: “Make Poverty History. Make Poverty History.”
Then leaders from five churches – the Coptic, the Pentecostal, the Ecumenical Church of Sudan, the Evangelical, and the Catholic Church – said a prayer for various aspects of peace in Darfur.
After a blessing, the crowd dispersed – among them, Mariam Makwage, 40, who had danced in praise during the meeting and held her hands up with joy.
“I thank God,” she said. “I’ve never seen a cardinal before and his coming may bring some hope to my people at this time of crisis.”
ACT International is a global alliance of churches and related agencies working to save lives and support communities in emergencies worldwide.
Caritas Internationalis is a confederation of 162 Catholic relief, development, and social service organizations present in 200 countries and territories.
Scottish Cardinal O’Brien Visits Troubled Darfur, Stresses Peace