Pope’s visit to South Sudan possible in 2018, says SCBC President

Rome, 19th August 2017. Recent discussions with the Vatican gave hope that Pope Francis will be able to visit South Sudan next year, says President of Sudan Catholic Bishops' Conference or SCBC.
Bishop Barani Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala says he is expecting a team from Rome to visit the young country in the coming months.
In an interview to National Catholic Reporter in Vatican City on Wednesday, SCBC President predicts that the team “might indicate that the Pope is going to come”.
Bishop Hiiboro explains that he is in Rome to get the calendar for the Holy Father’s visit in 2018 and raise up interest of South Sudanese that he should come.
The SCBC President pledges that Bishops and South Sudanese are going to be committed to pray to make it happen and prepare to receive the Holy Father.
He requests Vatican authorities to appoint bishops to the four vacant dioceses in South Sudan.
“I am also here to ring the bell and say, 'look, the Holy See has got to do something”, says Bishop Hiiboro.
He adds that “we have good priests, we have good people but we need to know what’s the program and how we can get new bishops in”.