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Bishops concerned over Sudan genocide

Bishops concerned over Sudan genocide
Posted on July 17, 2006

Catholic bishops in Kentucky have urged more US effort to halt the continuing genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
In a statement released July 11, the bishops said President George W. Bush and the Congress “must do everything possible to prevent this tragic and unnecessary loss of innocent human life.”

About 2.5 million people have been driven from their homes and a total of 3.5 million face the risk of starvation as government-backed Arab militias have staged repeated raids and attacks on the mainly black population of Darfur in western Sudan. An estimated 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict in the past three years.

The statement by the Catholic Conference of Kentucky, the public policy arm of the state’s bishops, praised the Bush administration and Congress for actions they have taken to stem the crisis in the past. It noted that Secretary of State Condeleezza Rice was instrumental in getting the U.N. Security Council to adopt a U.S.-sponsored resolution to place U.N. peacekeeping forces in Darfur.

“Nevertheless,” the statement said, “more needs to be done. The Catholic Conference of Kentucky urges President Bush to appoint a special envoy to work on this crisis. The United States needs to maintain its pressure on the government of Sudan to admit U.N. peacekeepers to aid the African Union force already in Darfur.”

The statement also said that with proper security, “previously hampered efforts may resume delivering vitally needed humanitarian assistance so that the people of Darfur can return home and rebuild their lives.”

Noting that the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives adopted different versions of the Darfur Peace and Accountability Act months ago, the bishops asked Congress to form a joint conference committee quickly to iron out differences between the two bills. “Further delay,” the statement said, “is morally unacceptable.”

The bishops’ concerns were highlighted at a press briefing July 11 at Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Louisville. The briefing, sponsored by Louisville archdiocesan Catholic Charities, featured representatives of that organization, Catholic Relief Services, the Catholic Conference of Kentucky and U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell’s office. It was conducted as part of Catholic Charities’ annual Faithful Citizenship Day.

Participants said the rape and killing continue in Darfur despite what was supposed to have been a comprehensive peace accord signed 18 months ago.

They said the world needs to renew its awareness of the continuing crisis there that, according to those who have seen it, defies description.

totalcatholic

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