South Sudan Mourns the Passing of Bishop Paride Taban: A Champion of Peace and Reconciliation
South Sudan Mourns the Passing of Bishop Paride Taban: A Champion of Peace and Reconciliation
Sr. Henriette Anne, FSSA
The first Catholic Bishop of Torit Diocese in South Sudan, Bishop Paride Taban died at the age of 87 on Wednesday, November 1, on the Solemnity of all Saints.
The members of the South Sudan and Sudan Catholic Bishops Conference announced in a statement that Bishop Taban died in Nairobi, Kenya after a protracted illness.
“The Catholic Bishops and the Catholic Church in South Sudan and Sudan would like to announce the return of our dear Bishop Paride Taban which occurred this afternoon 1st November 2023 in Nairobi. He has been unwell for some time and the Good Shepherd called him on the Solemnity of All the Saints”.
Bishop Eduardo, the Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Tombura-Yambio has eulogized the late Bishop Paride as a good leader who fought for their beloved country.
He was born in 1936 in Opari, Eastern Equatoria. Was ordained as a priest on May 24, 1964, and appointed as the Rector of the Minor Seminary in Okaru in 1966. He was the first leader of the Sudan Council of Churches, which was founded in February 1990.
Before becoming bishop of Torit, Taban was auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Juba and the titular bishop of Tadamata from 1980 to 1983.
He was a prominent figure in South Sudan, working towards peace and reconciliation in the country. He co-founded the New Sudan Council of Churches, which spearheaded numerous ecumenical initiatives including development work, humanitarian relief, training of grassroots leaders, and peace mediation
In 1989, when the rebel Sudan People’s Liberation Army (SPLA) overtook Torit, he was arrested with three other Catholic priests by the SPLA. Until 1990 he and Nathanael Garang were the only two Bishops active in areas held by the SPLA
Bishop Taban retired from the administration of Torit Diocese in 2004 and proceeded to complete the establishment of the Holy Trinity Peace Village in Kuron, an initiative he had founded in 2000.
