After receiving a pilgrimage of global religious leaders, the South Sudan Council of Churches released a statement on 10 March echoing the church leaders’ call for nonviolent means to solve the nation’s problems.
“Deeper than simply avoiding war, nonviolence calls us to a new way of life which respects the dignity of every person and the integrity of creation,” reads the statement. “Nonviolence names a core value of the Gospel, in which Jesus combined an unmistakable rejection of violence with the power of love and truth in action for justice and peace.”
The statement notes that nonviolence is broader than pacifism. “It is much more than the absence of violence and it is never passive,” reads the text. “It is a spirituality, a constructive force, an effective method for social force, an effective method for social transformation, and a powerful way of life committed to the well-being of all.”
With the statement, the South Sudan Council of Churches recommits itself to Gospel nonviolence. “It rejects any form of violence and commits itself to a prophetic stance against violence and injustice,” reads the statement. “This is not a passive approach, not simply submitting to or colluding with violence, but is active and prophetic in responding to all forms of violence, amongst individuals, families, clans, tribes, and political and military factions, and including systemic violence embedded in our cultural, societal, and political life.”
South Sudan Council of Churches statement on nonviolence
