CATHOLIC BISHOPS CALL FOR OPEN HANDS IN RECEIVING REFUGEES

By News room

The Uganda Episcopal Conference and umbrella body for the Catholic Bishops of Uganda has urged all Catholics in the refugee host communities to welcomed them (refugees) with an opportunity to witness the love of Christ, who himself was a refugee in Egypt.

In a press release at the end of their plenary at St. Augustine’s Institute Nsambya which was signed by their chairman who is also the Archbishop of Gulu. John Baptist Odama said the issue of refugees is one of the issues affecting the church and the country with one of the most populated refugee camp of Bidibidi in Adjuman hosting 200,000 refuges and most of them are from South Sudan.

The Bishops expressed gratitude towards the Ugandan government for its open policy that grants hospitality and peaceful stay in the country with a record number currently said to be over a million coming from south Sudan, DR. Congo and Burundi among others who are fleeing conflicts in their countries.

The clergy also urges local churches in refugee host communities to put in place effective pastoral programmes that will enable refugees to draw strength and hope from the living Word of God and the Sacraments.

For the worrying parties in the South Sudan the Bishops called on them to reflect on their plight of people who have suffered for decades challenging the region bodies, such as the Inter-Governmental Agency for Development (IGAD) and the African Union (AU) to do more in resolving the conflict.