Sudanese people can now “worship and practice their various religious beliefs without fear,” said the general secretary of the Sudanese bishops’ conference.

He received the award during United Nations Day celebrations in Nairobi on Oct. 24.

The Catholic bishops of South Sudan and Sudan are appealing for their citizens to help foster peace through acts of love, forgiveness and reconciliation.

As war continues in South Sudan, a neighboring diocese in Sudan is housing more than 200,000 South Sudanese refugees, its bishop said.

Sister Leonella Sgorbati and her bodyguard were gunned down as they left the children's hospital where she worked in Mogadishu.

Holy Spirit Missionary Sister Veronika Theresia Rackova, 58, was shot while driving an ambulance after taking an expectant mother to the hospital.

Bishop Lubamba noted that many government observers believe President Kabila is considering changes to the constitution that would allow him to run for a third term.