Catholic Awakening in Sudan

Residents dance in celebration of the arrival of Catholic Archbishop of Khartoum, Sudan Cardinal Gabriel Zubeir Wako in Rumbek in southern Sudan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Diocese of Rumbek, Nov. 19, 2005. Wako, the first Sudanese cardinal ever, was greeted by a great celebration seldom seen before the the Jan. 9, 2005 peace accord was signed. The accord ended a 21-year conflict in the largest nation in Africa, which has only known 11 years of peace since independence from Britain in 1956. In the accord, the Islamic Arab Sudanese government agreed to give autonomy to the non-Muslim southern Sudan region. After a six year period a referendum will be held to decide on independence or rejoining with the central government. The region has a population of around 9 million and a predominantly rural, subsistence economy. More than 2 million people have died and more than 4 million are internally displaced or have become refugees as a result of the civil war and war-related impacts.(Australfoto/Douglas Engle)

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