Tom Tiscornia and I
spoke with the Christians of Babanusa in western Sudan about the restriction on
their right to worship.  They said that such discrimination was not new to them
and has not killed their faith.  It has only helped it grow and enlivened it in
the face of social and physical pressures.  One Christian said, "They can kill
our bodies but not our faith."  Another said, "We’ve always had the cross in our
lives. It is the Christian way of life.  We have accepted it."  We asked the
people about ourselves.  Should we remain with them even though we cannot
function as priests: we cannot baptize their children, witness their marriages
and anoint them in their sicknesses.  Their response: "Stay here, visit us. This
is the Sudan.  Things will change.  God is good.  God is with us."

   
So Tom and I are
in Babanusa.  We are students of "hard" and "expensive" faith. We are learning
the meaning of the cross and the liberating effect of accepting it.  We visit
the Christians.  We hear them talk about their "stories, their faith.  We share
their food with them, breaking the bread of their work and their hardships.  We
wait for our bishop to deal with the authorities and try to secure basic human
rights for Sudanese Christians living in Babanusa.