Today in East Africa the memorial of Blessed Martyrs Daudi Okello and Jildo Irwa, from the Archdiocese of Gulu in northern Uganda, just across the border from the Diocese of Torit, is celebrated. Both were adolescent catechists from the Acholi tribe, a subdivision of the Luo group to which President Obama's father and Joseph Kony, himself once a catechist but now the maniacal leader of the murderous Lord's Resistance Army, also belong. Both of these associations underscore the ongoing significance of the heroic witness of these two young men. Bishop Edward Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio in South Sudan and Archbishop John Baptist Odama of Gulu both mentioned the horrifically destructive activity of the Lord's Resistance Army in their dioceses during their interventions at the Synod of Bishops for Africa currently taking place in Rome. Daudi Okello and Jildo Irwa were about 16 and 12 years old respectively when they were killed by people who opposed their efforts to instruct others in the Christian faith.
Their official biographies can be found on the Vatican website.
No comments:
Post a Comment