Bishop Hiiboro Kussala Encourages Christians to Embrace Bishop Paride Taban's Virtues for a Better Society 

Bishop Hiiboro Kussala Encourages Christians to Embrace Bishop Paride Taban's Virtues for a Better Society 

By Baraka John

Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala has urged Christians to emulate the lifestyle of the late Emeritus Bishop Paride Taban stressing that a lifestyle of good attitudes can help build human community.  

This call was made on Wednesday morning by His Lordship Bishop Edwardo Hiiboro Kusala shortly after returning from Juba where he went to represent the Catholic Diocese of Tombura Yambio (CDTY) to receive the body of the late Bishop Paride.  

Bishop Hiiboro while addressing the staff at the Curia, urges Christians to emulate the good gestures of late Paride, and focus on what can enhance people’s lives.

“What do we do, we emulate such kind of characters. It’s good to be good, to be kind, and to have those attitudes that can help build human community. So, his gestures are things that we can emulate”.

The local ordinary added, “For you young people, as you work, you work out with people well, be respectful, be attentive, be honest, and focus on what can enhance people’s lives”.  

Bishop Paride Taban died on All Saints Day in Nairobi, Kenya, where he had been taken for treatment.

Born in 1936 in South Sudan’s Eastern Equatoria State, Bishop Paride, started his Episcopal Ministry in May 1980 as Auxiliary Bishop of Juba Archdiocese. He was the first Bishop of Torit and the co-founder and first leader of the South Sudan Council of Churches (SSCC).

The SSCC he co-founded spearheaded numerous ecumenical initiatives including development work, humanitarian relief, training of grass-roots leaders, and peace mediation.

Bishop Paride also founded Holy Trinity Peace Village Kuron. Kuron is a beacon of peace within the conflict-ridden country of South Sudan. He had dedicated his whole life to the promotion of dialogue and development in South Sudan, as well as across the border in Uganda and Kenya.

In 2013 he received the UN Sergio Vieira de Mello-peace prize for his exceptional commitment to reconciling different communities in South Sudan. He had been closely involved in the peace agreement between the government of South Sudan and the David Yau Yau-rebel group signed in May 2014.

On May 16th, 2018 Bishop Paride Taban received the Freedom of Worship Award, one of the Roosevelt Four Freedoms Awards. The Four Freedoms Awards are presented each year to men and women whose achievements have demonstrated a commitment to US President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Four Freedoms: freedom of speech and expression, freedom of worship, freedom from want, and freedom from fear.