By Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
In responding to question disturbing majority of Christians of Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio (CDTY) on why priests are sent for further studies instead of being assigned in various parishes, bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala emphasized that priests need to acquire advanced degrees not for prestige but to sharpen their minds, expand their hearts, and equip their hands for the complex demands of ministry today especially within South Sudan which exists in a fragile and wounded society and does not only need a priest but an effective preacher, teacher, and a spiritual leader.
Bishop Hiiboro who has been the bishop CDTY since June 2008, expressed that South Sudan has faced decades of civil conflict, poverty, underdevelopment, trauma and moral disorientation, need priests who are bearer of solutions, a light in darkness, a bridge for peace, and a cornerstone for community reconstruction where cry for healing, building, and leadership rooted in truth is urgent thus the need to further their studies.
The local ordinary of CDTY highlighting more on the reason for continuous formation of priests especially in a nation like South Sudan is to prepare them for specialized ministries like formation of future clergy, teaching in seminaries and universities, training diocesan administration, parish management and peacebuilding.
The prelate also noted that further training is a way of capacity building; “A priest who has attained higher learning, especially at the doctoral level, becomes not only a serious researcher but a missionary of transformation, put a true PhD in a forest, and he will turn it into a hub of goodness”, Hiiboro said.
He added priests are not job seekers but they are job creators and therefor they are not forming priests to sit in their offices in cities, but they send them to institutions and parishes to engage, analyze, initiate and transform the community.
In his sharing he also cautioned that the doctoral studies must never be about titles but about profound humility, creative servanthood, and concrete solution.
Mentioning the names of priests with PHDs, Fr. Michael Katawa – retired, but continues to offer wisdom and counsel, Fr. Peter Moudie – Rector of Blessed Bakanja, the International Major Seminary for Eastern Africa, Nairobi, Kenya. Lecturer at Catholic University of Eastern Africa (CUEA), Fr. Baptist Karim – Rector of St. Paul’s National Major Seminary, Munuki–Juba, Fr. Maurice Ibiko – Director, St. John Yambio Campus Catholic University of South Sudan and now lecturer at St. Paul’s National Major Seminary, Juba, Fr. Mathew Minisare – Fidei Donum priest in the UK, representing our diocese abroad, Fr. Joseph Migidi – Recently appointed lecturer at St. John Yambio Campus, Catholic University of South Sudan, after five years as Principal of Bishop Abangite College of Science and Technology, Barani Hiiboro Kussala, the Catechist and a researcher he revealed that CDTY is blessed with growing number of priests who embody the spirit of academic commitment and pastoral mission and more are yet to come.
In conclusion, he stressed that according to “Church wisdom and Canon Law, priestly identity comes before academic identity. Yet, when properly integrated, education becomes a holy tool in the hands of a servant-leader. A priest with a doctorate who walks humbly with his people becomes a wellspring of renewal”.
