International community should support suffering Church not corrupt Sudanese government, Cardinal says

Nov 8, 2006 / 22:00 pm

Speaking recently to Aid to the Church in Need, Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako, Archbishop of Khartoum decried the continued suffering experienced by the people of Sudan and noted that it is the Catholic Church, not the corrupt Sudanese government, that provides most of the care for the needy people of his country.

“Millions of dollars are being handed over to a corrupt government,” Cardinal Zubeir Wako told the international charity.  According to the archbishop, humanitarian aid funds are being wasted instead of being entrusted to those responsible groups who are prepared to genuinely attend to the needs of the population. “Who is really aware of whom the Church is helping in Sudan? Who sees the sufferings of the Church and what was taken away from her? We demand that the Church be respected and trusted because she truly serves the people,” he added.

Cardinal Zubeir Wako pointed to the fact that hundreds of thousands of refugees were still not able to return to their homes in southern Sudan – despite the peace agreement of Jan. 9, 2005.  “It is not the state, but the Church that takes care of those forgotten people who have to live under inhuman conditions, very close to the Sudanese capital,” the cardinal said.

“Therefore,” he continued, “the international community must support the Church that is a suffering Church and yet does all it can to alleviate the misery of the people. The Muslims as well are aware of this fact. We have suffered for decades from what the people in Darfur are going through right now.”

Voicing concern over a lack of will to take action on part of the international community, the Cardinal said: “They will continue to negotiate or even remain silent and then declare that the problem is solved.”