Dear Editor, Your stories of July 14, ‘Irish nuns defy danger to stay in South Sudan’ and ‘Dublin football star praises ‘powerful’ work of priests’, were welcome reminders of the continuing and vital work of missionaries to Africa.
Far from being a thing of the past, as we are often led to believe, the reports of the steadfast work of the Loreto community and the Franciscan Missionary Sisters in South Sudan serve to remind that for too many struggling communities across Africa, were it not for the work of missionaries, so much more suffering would be the mark of that continent. What would be the consequences be for those mentioned in the two reports were it not for the presence of religious orders? Education and healthcare would certainly suffer, but what of those who sought sanctuary with the orders in their schools and compounds as soon as the latest fighting broke out? I note that this ‘seeking of sanctuary’ occurred even as the United Nations maintain a military presence, a testament to the trust ordinary people have that their congregations will not desert them when the going gets tough and that the investment of those same orders is of the most noble kind and not the moving agenda of political powers.
Whenever we are tempted to slip into nostalgic dreams of great missionary stories of the past, we should recall the Loretos and the Franciscan Sisters and give thanks for their enduring sense of mission.
Yours etc.,
Dan Byrne,
Drogheda, Co. Louth
