society

Sudan. The Church in the Nuba Mountains
Interview with Msgr Gassis, Bishop of El Obeid. The role of the Church and the dialogue with Islam

edited by Paola Ronconi

In Milan, we met with His Excellency Macram Max Gassis, Bishop of El Obeid in central Sudan. He will soon return to his diocese. “After the flight,” he tells us, “I have a three-hour journey to reach home. I live in the forest, on the Nuba Mountains, in the areas liberated by the SPLA [Sudanese Popular Liberation Army], not in the episcopal see, because I am considered by the Khartoum government a persona non grata since I have often spoken out against the violations of human rights in my country.” Here the population is African, not Arab, for the most part practicing the traditional African religion (animists), as well as many Catholics and Protestants. The Nuban Muslims are moderate, and encounter the hostility of the fundamentalist government in Khartoum, which wants to take over this fertile, oil-rich territory and impose the Shariah on them.
Bishop Gassis has not lived in El Obeid for years. But he spends long periods in Europe and the United States, where he attempts to raise public awareness. Indifference to the conflict in his country is the most serious charge he lays against the countries of the West.

Bishop Gassis, in such a difficult situation, what role can the Church play?
The Church has to give hope to the population. Not only to Catholics, but also to Protestants, to traditionally religious Africans, and to Muslims persecuted because they are not Arab and thus are considered second-rank Muslims by the regime. I have in mind the peoples of the Nuba Mountains in particular.

The Muslims… What does all this mean in the dialogue with them?
I do not believe in a doctrinal-type dialogue–this is impossible. On the contrary, I believe in a living dialogue, i.e., based on mutual respect and cooperation as human beings and as creatures of God who share this humanity and this earth. For example, in the field of education: how many Muslims are educated in Catholic schools! In the field of health care: how many Muslim women have come to the maternity ward of our hospital! And our people appreciate this–this is the hope I was talking about earlier. We are building a little hospital in the Nuba Mountains, and also an educational and vocational training center. This is called hope and dialogue for our people.

How can peace be achieved in the Sudan?
For me, the most important aspect is the relationship between state and religion, but the recent treaties do not mention this. In the Sudan, there are laws that are discriminatory by nature, like the Missionary Society Act [in 1962 the Khartoum government issued a decree that missionaries had to be expelled from the country], in order to paralyze the growth of the Church and make it an insignificant minority. When the Holy Father visited the Sudan, he asked the Islamic regime to repeal the law. The new version is worse than the original!
It is useless for us to deceive ourselves and deceive public opinion–without justice there can be no peace. The conflict is not a political or economic matter at this point, but is racial and religious.
Countries like Ethiopia, Eritrea, Kenya, and Uganda attempt to help the Sudan stop the Khartoum government, because they fear the spread of Islamic fundamentalism.

What does it mean to be the shepherd of such a tormented people?
For me, it is an immense grace, because suffering with my people enriches me and gives me strength. The suffering Church knows no compromises and does not accept them. Either we are on the Lord’s side or we are against Him. I am not a politician, I am a shepherd. The role of the Church is to raise the awareness of public opinion about what is happening in the Sudan, not only on the ecclesial level but also on the political and social level. We speak out to our brother bishops, to the priests, to the various parishes, but also to the political leaders of the world.