[VaticanNews] portal reports on an address by Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala, the Bishop of Tombura Yambio County in South Sudan, who called on authorities, religious leaders, and all citizens to become “bridges of healing and peace” in a region devastated by years of violence, political instability, and displacement. The bishop lamented the destruction of the social fabric of Western Equatoria, once known as the “Bread Basket of South Sudan,” and urged a revival of “respectful conversation, reconciliation, and unity.” He warned against the harmful use of media and careless words, stressing that “life is a gift from God” and appealing to the “Prince of Peace.” He addressed various groups—political leaders, youth, women, traditional leaders, and fellow church leaders—urging them to serve, build, and defend truth and justice. This message, while superficially appealing, is a textbook example of the conciliar church’s reduction of the Gospel to naturalistic humanism, entirely omitting the supernatural order, the Kingship of Christ, and the only true path to lasting peace.
Reduction of the Church’s Mission to Naturalistic Humanism
The address by Bishop Hiiboro Kussala, as presented by the VaticanNews portal, is a profound illustration of the theological and spiritual bankruptcy that has infected the post-conciliar structures. The bishop’s message, though cloaked in the language of peace and reconciliation, is entirely devoid of the supernatural foundation that is the sole source of true peace. It reduces the Church’s mission to a mere humanitarian and social project, a hallmark of the Modernist revolution condemned by St. Pius X in his encyclical Pascendi Dominici gregis.
The bishop states: “Violence did not heal our communities. Hatred did not restore trust. Revenge did not create peace.” While this is empirically true, it is a truism that leads nowhere without the divine remedy. His proposed solution is purely horizontal: “Let us revive the culture of respectful conversation, reconciliation, and unity.” This is the language of secular NGOs and the United Nations, not of the Catholic Church established by Jesus Christ. The bishop calls for “respectful conversation” and “dialogue,” but he is silent on the only dialogue that matters: the dialogue of conversion, where sinners are called to repentance and submission to the One True God and His Christ. As Pope Pius XI taught in his encyclical Quas Primas, true peace is only possible in the Kingdom of Christ, and it flows from the recognition of His royal authority over all individuals and states. By omitting this, the bishop promotes a peace that is merely the absence of conflict, a peace of the world that Christ Himself said He did not come to bring (Matt. 10:34).
Omission of the Kingship of Christ and the Social Reign of Our Lord
The most glaring omission in this address is the complete silence on the Kingship of Christ and His social reign. The bishop speaks of “leadership as service,” echoing the conciliar distortion of authority, but he fails to ground this service in the divine mandate. He does not remind political leaders that their authority is derived from God and that they are subject to the law of Christ the King. Pope Pius XI, in Quas Primas, unequivocally stated: “The Kingdom of our Redeemer encompasses all men… His reign extends not only to Catholic nations… but His reign encompasses also all non-Christians, so that most truly the entire human race is subject to the authority of Jesus Christ.”
By failing to invoke this doctrine, the bishop implicitly endorses the very secularism and laicism that Pius XI condemned as a “plague that poisons human society.” He calls on leaders to be “bridges of peace” without informing them that they have a duty to publicly honor Christ and obey Him. He urges them to “safeguard the sacredness of human life” but does not root this sanctity in man’s creation in the image of God and his redemption by the Precious Blood of Christ. Instead, he offers a vague, naturalistic notion that “life is a gift from God,” a phrase emptied of its Catholic meaning and compatible with any deistic or even pantheistic worldview. This is precisely the error condemned in the Syllabus of Errors (Proposition 39), which rejects the idea that the state is endowed with unlimited right and denies its obligation to recognize the authority of Christ.
The False Supernatural: A “Prince of Peace” Without the Cross
The bishop’s appeal to the “Prince of Peace” is a classic example of the conciliar dilution of Christological doctrine. He presents peace as a soft, comforting sentiment that “changes attitudes, heals memories, softens bitterness, and renews communities.” This is the language of psychotherapy, not of the Gospel. The Prince of Peace is Jesus Christ, the God-Man, who established His Kingdom not through “respectful conversation” but through His bloody Sacrifice on the Cross and the preaching of repentance and faith. True peace is the tranquility of order that comes from the state of grace, achieved through the sacraments, especially the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and Penance.
The bishop’s address contains no mention of the sacraments, no call to prayer beyond a generic invitation, and no reference to the need for sanctifying grace. He does not urge the faithful to receive the sacraments, to make reparation for sin, or to seek the intercession of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queen of Peace in the Catholic sense. His “prayer” is a naturalistic exercise, not a supernatural act of worship. This omission is fatal, as it severs the connection between human effort and divine grace, leaving man to his own devices. As St. Augustine taught, our hearts are restless until they rest in God, and no amount of human “bridge-building” can achieve the peace that surpasses all understanding (Phil 4:7).
Complicity in the Conciliar Apostasy
This address does not come from the true Church, which is the ark of salvation, but from the conciliar sect that has occupied the Vatican since the death of Pope Pius XII. The bishops of this sect, including Mr. Hiiboro Kussala, are part of a structure that has systematically undermined the faith, promoted false ecumenism, and embraced the principles of the world. Their calls for “unity” are calls for unity in error, not in the truth of the Catholic faith. They speak of “dialogue” with the world while remaining silent on the need for the conversion of the world to Christ.
The bishop’s appeal to “fellow church leaders to persevere in defending truth, justice, peace, and unity without fear or tribalism” is particularly cynical. The conciliar church has abandoned the truth by embracing religious liberty, false ecumenism, and the evolution of dogma. It has betrayed justice by failing to condemn the crimes of communism, Islamism, and secularism. It has sacrificed true peace on the altar of “interreligious dialogue” and “brotherhood.” And its “unity” is a false unity that includes heretics, schismatics, and apostates. The bishop’s words are not those of a successor of the Apostles but of a bureaucrat in the service of the Antichrist’s kingdom of this world.
Conclusion: The Only True Peace
The address by the so-called Bishop of Tombura Yambio is a sad reflection of the spiritual desolation of the post-conciliar era. It offers a peace without Christ, a unity without truth, and a hope without grace. It is a peace that the world can give and the world can take away. The only true peace is the peace of Christ, which flows from the recognition of His sovereign Kingship over every soul, family, and nation. This peace is achieved not through “respectful conversation” but through the preaching of the Gospel, the administration of the sacraments, and the faithful observance of God’s commandments. Until the conciliar sect repents of its errors and returns to the immutable Tradition of the Catholic Church, its calls for peace will remain empty words, and its leaders will continue to lead souls not to the Prince of Peace but to the prince of this world.
Source:
South Sudanese bishop: All people can be ‘bridges of healing and peace' (vaticannews.va)
Date: 19.05.2026