December 12, 2022

A daily news briefing from Catholic News Agency, powered by artificial intelligence. Ask your smart speaker to play “Catholic News,” or listen every morning wherever you get podcasts. www.catholicnewsagency.com - Pope Francis said Sunday he is concerned about recent deadly clashes in the northern part of South Sudan. “I follow with sorrow and concern the news from South Sudan about the violent clashes of the past few days,” he said December 11 at the end his Sunday Angelus message. Pope Francis is scheduled to travel to South Sudan’s capital city, Juba, in just under eight weeks. “Let us pray to the Lord for peace and national reconciliation, so that the attacks may cease and that civilians may always be respected,” Francis said Sunday, after violence broke out in South Sudan’s Upper Nile state, in the northeastern part of the country, last week. United Nations agencies said more than 9,000 people were displaced in the clashes, and an unknown number of people were killed. The pope’s journey to South Sudan will follow a three-day visit to the city of Kinshasa, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253048/pope-francis-concerned-about-deadly-clashes-in-south-sudan Every effort for peace in Ukraine coming from Pope Francis and the Holy See is welcome, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said Friday, but he also said the time for broad negotiations after the Russian aggression has not come yet. Though appreciating Pope Francis’ constant mention of the Ukrainian situation and expressing an open invitation to the pope to visit the country, Kuleba also said that some of the pope’s words have been “painful” for Ukrainians. Pope Francis has often stressed that the Holy See is available to facilitate broad negotiations. Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said that because of continued aggression from Russian, “the day for a big mediation will come, but we are not there yet, to our deepest regret.” https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/253045/ukraine-foreign-minister-welcomes-pope-francis-vatic