May I on behalf of the Government and the people of the Sudan welcome Your Holiness as a messenger of peace and Love to this land which throughout its history has hosted a multitude of civilizations and faiths and, where Christianity and Islam have flourished and ingrained their values an ideals in the Sudanese people and endowed the with a sense of tolerance and peaceful co-existence unprecedented in the African Continent.

The missions of peace that you have undertaken in different parts of the world have borne fruit in helping bring about the demise of materialistic and atheistic communism and imbibed a feeling of spiritualism and family values in a world that has become obsessed with consumerism and materialism.

Africa has been undergoing profound social and economic changes which have led in their turn to conflicts and human suffering and the ever deepening condition of poverty and deprivation. We have been on our part following with great admiration the efforts you have been undertaking together with men and women ofd goodwill to alleviate the situation and usher an era of fraternity, goodwill and brotherhood between the people of Africa. This has been a source of inspiration to us in the Sudan and a strengthening of our resolve and determination to deal effectively and humanely with the causes and roots of our own internal conflict. We are confident that the peaceful resolution of the problems confronting this country will be in the near future, and the Sudan will be able to live in peace and concentrate the energies of its sons and daughters to the task of rehabilitation and development.

We are confident that our combined efforts and the efforts of all men of goodwill will enable us to achieve these cherished objectives, and the Sudan will once again become a land of peace, tolerance and of spiritual values as it has always been through its history.

Your Holiness, Muslims read in their Holy Book everyday that Christians are the closed to them in love. The Koran says, I quote : « Are nearest among them in love to the believers will thou find those who say, « We are Christian’s, because among these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant » (end quote).

A rapprochement between and a togetherness to Christian and Muslim spiritual as well as political leaders and a meaningful religions dialogue between Christianity and Islam, being the two faiths with the most following among the faithful can make our world a better place and an abode of peace.

Your welcome visit, Your Holiness, is a God sent gift for both of us to share our views on these important matters and a rare opportunity for Your Holiness to see the facts for yourself, and to see also how the Sudan, a multi-religious, multi-racial and multi-cultural society has devised ways and means whereby all can enjoy life and live in harmony, fraternity and tranquillity.

I thank you 

As-salamu ‘aleykom ! 
(Peace be upon yon)

1. I have kissed the soil of the Sudan with profound sentiments of peace and goodwill. I give thanks to Almighty God who has led my pilgrim steps to this land., and gives me the opportunity to speak on behalf of understanding, harmony and peace among believers who, though they follow different traditions, nevertheless honour God in their hearts and seek to do his will in all things. In greeting all of you who have come here to welcome me, I make this ardent appeal to you : let us listen to the voices of our brothers and sisters, especially those oppressed by poverty, hunger and violence, as they cry out for justice and peace, and for a new era of dialogue and agreement.

I have had an intense desire to come to the Sudan, and I am therefore grateful to the civil authorities for making this visit possible. I am also grateful to the Catholic Bishops for their invitation to share, if only for a brief while, the life of the Catholic community here. As the Successor of the Apostle Peter, whom Jesus Christ placed over his Church, I have a binding duty to encourage and strengthen the faith of my brothers  and sisters wherever they are, and especially when that faith demands great courage and fidelity. When people are weak and poor and defenceless, I must raise my voice on their behalf. When they are homeless and suffering the consequences of drought, famine, disease and the devastations of war, I must be close to them and appeal on their behalf to those who can offer help, and above all to those who can advance the cause of justice and peace. Justrice and peace : these are the conditions of life for which all mankind yearns. They are the necessary premise of development and progress.  I pray and hope for justice and peace for all citizens of this land,  without reserve, regardless of their religion, social standing, ethnic background or colour.

2  To the attentive observer, the whole of Africa is undergoing striking transformations. Everywhere there are immense problems still to be faced. Q stormy history has left a legacy of underdevelopment, ethnic rivalries and conflict. Endemic poverty has produced innumerable material and cultural deficiencies. Efforts to bring progress and development have not always coincided with the people’s best interests, and in many cases past policies have left a burden of enormous international debt. But new winds are also blowing.  Many people on this Continent now realize that African solutions must be found to African problems, that individuals, families and groups must be enables to contribute to their own advancement, and that therefore society must become more democratic, more respectful of legitimate differences, more stable through the rule of law, reflecting universally recognized human rights. The winds of change are demanding renewed structures of economic and political organization, structures which will genuinely respct human dignity and human rights.

In my Pastoral Visits I have been to a great many African countries. Over the years I have me most of Africa’s leaders. Notwithstanding the challenges facing this Continent, I am convinced that there is a solid basis for great hope in Africa’s future. here in Khartoum, I wish to express that same hope with regard to the Sudan. This is a country of many different peoples, languages and customs. Apart from African traditional religion, two major religious traditions, Islam and Christianity,  have coexisted in this territory for centuries. Today it is essential to recover the sense of mutual respect and cooperation, in the service of the common good, and in the frank and honest search for a just solution to the conflict which continues to reap such a terrible harvest of suffering. With this great hope in mind, I renew  my appeal to the international community and the international organizations, not to fail the people of the Sudan, but to make further efforts to relieve immediate needs and to help lay the foundations of future development.

3.  We Christians call Jesus Christ « the Prince of Peace » : he is « our peace » (Eph 2, 14). For the followers of Islam the term salam is so important that it constitutes one of the glorious divide names. For the 1992  World Day of Peace  I wrote a Message which states that religion, « if it is lived authentically, cannot fail to bring forth fruits of peace and brotherhood, for it is in the nature of religion to foster an ever closer bond with the Godhead and to promote an increasingly fraternal relationship among people » (No. 2). The only struggle which religious motives can justify, the only struggle worthy of man, is the moral struggle against man’s own disordered passions against every kind of selfishness, against attempts to oppress others, against every type of hatred and violence : in short  against everything that is the exact opposite of peace and reconciliation  (cf. ibid., No. 7). In this great human endeavour, as so many Muslims and Christians all around the world have shown, there is ample basis for co-operation and mutual accord.

4.  The Catholic Church rejoices when people acquire a greater awareness of their dignity, for then they become more capable of discovering in themselves and in each other the image and likeness of the Creator, the work of whose hands they are (cf. Ps 8, 5). Throughout this Continent the Church, in fulfilling her religious mission, also carries on a patient and persevering work  of human promotion through education, health-care and assistance. She does this in obedience to the words of Jesus Christ, who taught us that true worship of God involves the service of our neighbour (cf. Lk 1O, 27). All the Church, for it is everyone’s duty, the duty of individuals and of the State, to respect the conscience of every human being. Rigorous respect for the right to religious freedom is a major source and foundation of peaceful coexistence.

In the few hours of my visit, I will pray and celebrate the Eucharist with the Catholic community. I also look forward to meeting many followers of Islam. May Almighty God help us to grow in mutual understanding and in awareness of our grave  responsibilities with regard to the true good of people.

      Baraka Allah as-Sudan (Gog bless the Sudan).

1.  My first impulse is to reach out to you, in order to assure each one of you - priest, religious, seminarian, Catechist, whether Sudanese or missionary - that you have a very special place in the mind and heart of the Vicar of Christ. Your life and activity goes on in the midst of grave difficulties, and you may sometimes think that you are forgotten by the rest of the world. But never are you far from the mind and heart of God. Your every prayer and effort is known to him. You are not forgotten by the Church, by the Successor of Peter, by Christians everywhere who pray constantly for you.

I greet you in the love of the Most Blessed Trinity : Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Saviour" (Tit 1, 4). And I send a special greeting to the other priests, religious and lay men and women who bear daily witness to the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in this land, but who cannot be here today. I hope that somehow they will hear my voice and know that the whole Church loves them and prays for them.

2  I am well aware of the sad circumstances of your country, tormented by a civil war that has brought untold misery, suffering and death to the Sudanese people, especially in the South. The life of your communities is deeply affected also by a breakdown in  the good relations that should exist between Christians and Muslims. Moreover, you and your fellow-Christians are poor in the goods of this world, even to the point of extreme hardship.

With admiration and with intense gratitude to our heavenly Father for your fidelity, I encourage you to « strand firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel » (Phil 1, 27). In my own country I have known something of the horrors of war and of the ways in which the history of the catacombs has been repeated in this century. As the Successor of Peter, in my solicitude for all the Churches, I share the trials and sufferings of our brothers and sisters all over the world. Still, in this part of Africa, I see clearly a particular reproduction of the mystery of Calvary in the lives of the majority of the Christian people. And what answer can I give you ? What consolation can I offer you ?

In a short while we shall celebrate the Eucharist, « the acceptable sacrifice which brings salvation  to the whole world » (Eucharistic Prayer IV). With unshakable trust we shall proclaim our faith :

"Lord by your Cross and resurrection
you have set us free.
You are the saviour of the world".

Brothers and Sisters, if there is one message that the Pope wants to leave with you it is this : Make the Paschal Mystery the centre of your lives ! Gather the people of God to celebrate the mystery of faith.  Nourish yourselves and your communities with the world of life and the sacraments of our salvation.

Dear Priests, on the day of your ordination you were configured to Jesus the High Priest for the service of the Gospel. May you never lose sight of that outpouring of grace which invested you with great responsibilities, but also strengthened and confirmed you for the labours ahead. Never lose sight of « Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross » (He. 12, 2).

The faithful look to you for support and encouragement, both in the pursuit of Christian Holiness and in their demands for respect for their human and civil rights. You know that your role is not one of merely social or political action. Rather, you are « servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God » (1 Cor. 4, 1).The true « insignia » of your charge are your zeal for the Father’s will, your constant prayer, the witness of celibacy for the sake of the Kingdom, the acts of humble service which reflect the compassion of the God Samaritan.

It is important for you, both personally and in order to place your ministry in its proper context, to maintain a lively sense of communion and practical cooperation with your Bishops, and through them to be in union of mind and heart with the one, universal Body of Christ. May you be true instruments of reconciliation and peace, particularly in administering the Sacrament of the forgiveness of sins.

I entrust you and your ministry to the maternal care of the Blessed Virgin . May her intercession give you all the encouragement you need.

Dear Seminarians : : you are discovering what it means to follow Jesus more closely and prepare yourselves for the ministry. Use every opportunity to  acquire  a deep and solid formation ! Above all, day by day allow the Good Shepherd to shape your hearts after his own (cf. Jer. 3, 15) so that when hardships come you will be able, like him, to bear all for the love of the flock.

4.  Dear Religious : you too have a special place in the Pope’s heart and prayers. Your role in the Christian community is fundamental and of extraordinary importance, not only because of what you do in all the many different forms of apostolate in which you are engaged, but especially because your faithful observance of the evangelical counsels effectively speaks to others, whether Christian or not, of the truth and significance of the Beatitudes, the core of the Christian life.

Take courage from those words which the Second Vatican Council addressed to Religious. « The more ardently that they unite themselves to Christ through a self-surrender involving their entire lives, the more vigorous will become the life of the Church and the more abundantly will her apostolate bear fruit » (Perfectae Caritatis, 1). In the economy of salvation you are the living seeds of a marvellous spiritual fruitfulness. In particular I wish to assure the Sisters of the unique part you have in the Church’s life and mission. Your example of genuine holiness and the ardour of your service make a decisive statement , in the actual circumstances of your apostolates, concerning the dignity of women. In the Church’s name I say : Thank you !

I wish to encourage you all to go on promoting vocations to the Religious Life, giving a solid formation to those who are called, and ensuring care and spiritual support for any Brother or Sister in need. May Mary who hastened to assist her cousin Elizabeth, be a model of Christian charity for you all.

5.  Dear Catechists : allow me to address you in the words of Saint Paul to the Corinthians : « I have great confidence in you ; I have great pride in you ; I am filled with comfort » (2 Cor. 7,4). You are at the centre of the local Christian community, often organized in Small Christian Communities. It is your task to speak the word of God in a language that is as close as possible to the needs and experience of your brothers and sisters. Through your words and actions Christ comes closer to the daily struggles of your people. Indeed, through you, to the extent that you assimilate the Gospel message, Christ becomes truly Sudanese. May the example of Blessed Bakhita, who never lost confidence and hope no matter how hard the conditions of her life, inspire you with love and mercy towards all.

6.  Finally I wish to say a specific word of gratitude to the men and women Missionaries present in the Sudan. The Church in this land continues its mission with courage and determination, despite difficulties and restrictions, thanks also to your selfless service. You are a sign of the Church’s universality, of her unity of faith and openness to the communion of all the particular Churches in the same saving mission. May the Lord abundantly reward your unselfish commitment.

7.  Brothers and Sisters : the Paschal Mystery of the Passion, Death and Resurrection of our Jesus Christ is all the Church’s wealth and confidence. It is the source of our strength and hope. When man’s justice fails, it alone heals our wounds and gives meaning to our efforts. In the Eucharist which we shall celebrate this afternoon I will hold you close, « remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope » (1 Thess. 1, 3). The whole Church entrusts you to God’s loving providence, knowing that, in the words of the Letter to the Romans : « the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God » (8, 27). The Father, Son and Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.