A priest’s kidnapping in South Sudan heightens fear among clergy in the country

[mwai_chat context=”Let’s have a discussion about this article:nnJUBA, South Sudan (RNS) — The recent mysterious disappearance of the Rev. Luke Yugue and his driver, Michael Gbeko, in South Sudan has left many Christians in the central African country worried about their safety and afraid to carry out ministry work across the troubled nation.The two are believed to have been kidnapped by ethnic militia forces on April 27 while traveling by road on a motorbike from the Nagero Catholic parish to Tombura county in the state of Western Equatoria, bordering the Central African Republic and Congo.
Religious leaders, especially those from the Catholic Church, have been urging congregants across the country of more than 12.7 million people, about 61% of them Christian, to pray for the safety of the missing priest and his driver. The leaders have also been desperately appealing to the government to aid in the release of the two, who are believed to be held hostage, and to declare a state of emergency in the region where the kidnapping occurred.
“As a church, we appeal to Your Excellency to help us bring Fr. Luka and those with him alive,” Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of South Sudan’s Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio said in his April 29 letter to the country’s pres …nnDiscussion:nn” ai_name=”RocketNews AI: ” start_sentence=”Can I tell you more about this article?” text_input_placeholder=”Type ‘Yes'”]