The Reality of God

THE REALITY OF GOD

Ruth Burrows, in a recent book, points this out by presenting us with the following image:  “A baby in its mother's womb is in a relationship with her but is unaware of it and does not respond to the mother's intense love and desire to give herself to the child. The relationship with God on the human side can remain as minimal as that of the baby.”

The first thing this image tells us is that an atheistic consciousness does not negate the existence of God, even if our age seems to think so. The reality of God does not depend upon our conscious awareness of it. God does not cease to exist simply because we cease to think about him. God's reality is not threatened by our lack of awareness.

This image can also help us better understand something else, namely, the Christian doctrine of creation. Most of the time, almost all of us misunderstand this doctrine. We believe that God created us (past tense) and that we now somehow have life and existence independent of God, tantamount to a toy that has been created by some craftsman. But that notion is false.

The dogma of creation asks us to believe that God is actively creating us right now and is sustaining us in being right now. There is no past tense as regards creation. If God, even for a second, ceased creating and sustaining us, we would cease to be. We have no reality independent of God, no more than a baby in the womb is independent of its mother. The baby may not be aware of the mother but the mother's reality is what is massive, life giving, and life sustaining. That is also true in our relationship to God.

(Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

UPDATES ON SUDAN CONFLICT

Conflict Alert: Halting South Sudan's Spreading Civil War

Juba, Brussels  |   7 Jul 2014

The war between the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/SPLA) government and the Sudan Peoples' Liberation Movement/Army in Opposition (SPLM/A-IO) that began in Juba in December and spread to the three Greater Upper Nile states (Jonglei, Upper Nile and Unity) is in danger of escalation, including more atrocities and famine. As Crisis Group warned in April, conflict has broken out in Greater Bahr el Ghazal, and rising tensions threaten to drag in the relatively peaceful Equatorian states. The Security Council, in emergency session, should instruct the UN mission (UNMISS) to use its good offices to prevent further cessation of hostilities violations and violence against civilians; establish an international contact group and arms embargo; and better delineate roles between UNMISS and humanitarians on the ground. Concurrently, the regional Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) must better link its stuttering peace process with communal dialogues inside South Sudan and reach out to excluded constituencies. The dynamics that need urgent attention include:

1. Growing tensions between the national government and the leaderships of the three Equatorian states. Fuelled by deliberate rumour-mongering, these have Juba on high alert. The Equatorians and the SPLM/A-IO insist on federalism to break the perceived “Dinka-dominated” central government’s wealth and power monopoly. Though local mediation is underway to stem escalation, worrying aspects include reported clashes (denied by both parties) between the Central Equatoria governor’s (ethnic) Mundari bodyguards and the Presidential Guard; the governor’s statements that Equtorians in the security forces have been disarmed; news of mobilisation of armed civilians within and around Juba; reported weapons shipments into the Equatorian states; a minor clash related to mobilisation of Equatorians in Maridi; and a government curfew in Juba.
2. Outbreak of conflict in Greater Bahr el Ghazal.  SPLA defectors from Wau in Western Bahr el Ghazal, now operating as separate armed units, have prompted abuses by loyal SPLA on local non-Dinka believed to support these units. The latest high-profile defector, 6th Division commander General Dau Aturjong (Dinka), is recruiting in and around Northern Bahr el Ghazal to broaden the armed opposition and open new war fronts.
3. Challenges to governing coalition unity. Frustration with Juba's failure to win the war has led Uganda to reassess its relationship with the Kiir government. In light of this and other challenges, there are private conversations about the transfer of power within the leadership, particularly among the president’s home Bahr el Ghazal communities.
4. Instability in Lakes state. Many communities want to sit out the war; some have a deal with neighbouring southern Unity state Nuer. Many youth in Lakes have taken to the bush to avoid forced recruitment; some threaten to fight the unpopular governor.
5. Senior SPLA-IO defiance of the 9 May cessation of hostilities. Powerful field commanders, particularly General Peter Gadet Yak in Unity, refuse to respect the Addis agreement. IGAD mediators have little engagement with them or the allied Nuer youth "White Army". Disaffected commanders point to the government/Ugandan offensive in Ayod and President Kiir’s statement that he will not step down in a transitional government as justification for the rainy season offensive.

Three cessation of hostilities agreements have failed to halt the war, and time is of the essence to expand the current process to address existing and future challenges.The government is borrowing heavily against oil futures to fund the war, its troops are often unpaid, and thousands have deserted. Any transitional government will inherit a bankrupt state. It remains unclear who is funding and arming the opposition and how this outside support may be undermining mediation efforts. 

Pursuant to UNMISS' mandate approved in May, a regional force is deploying under its command, focused on protecting civilians, cessation of hostilities monitors in key towns and oil-installation workers, but it will be overwhelmed if war continues to expand. UNMISS, which is still not acting under its protection of civilians mandate to address this, should work with the IGAD monitors to prevent further escalation of violence but step back from efforts to be a substitute for humanitarians and to negotiate their access. Both government and SPLA-IO have asked to discuss these issues with unarmed, non-political humanitarians rather than UNMISS, whose attempt to represent humanitarians has already backfired and has limited access for humanitarians in some famine-prone areas. UNMISS should assist humanitarians only on request and refocus its efforts toward its core mandated tasks, such as protection of civilians.

Peace talks have stalled; the 10 August deadline for a transitional government to be in place is increasingly unrealistic. IGAD must expand its efforts for an inclusive process in Addis by including community leaders and armed groups and launch multiple dialogues in South Sudan. The cessation of hostilities Monitoring and Verification (MVM) Teams, protected by UNMISS, should investigate the reports of violations in Greater Bahr el Ghazal and Equatorias.

Many recommendations Crisis Group made in its December 2013 Open Letter to the UN Secretary-General and its April report, A Civil War by Any Other Name, remain relevant to averting further escalation. In the face of faltering peace talks, more aggressive South Sudanese demands for political reform and fractures within the ruling coalition, the UN Security Council should hold an emergency session to do the following:

• instruct UNMISS to take decisive action, coordinated with IGAD, under its protection of civilians mandate to prevent further cessation of hostilities violations and violence against civilians, including by using of its good offices;
• institute an arms embargo for South Sudan to prevent further escalation and identify the government's and opposition’s sources of weapons;
• task regional troops to provide force protection so the MVM teams can launch investigations in the Equatorias and Greater Bahr el Ghazal; 
• clarify that to prevent counter-productive conflation of UNMISS and humanitarians, UNMISS is not to represent humanitarians and is only to assist them on request and;
• establish a Contact Group that includes IGAD, the AU, UN, Troika (U.S., UK, Norway), EU, China and South Africa to facilitate coordination and discussion on the way forward.

To stop further intensification of the war, IGAD should take the following steps:

• task the MVM teams with investigating reports of cessation of hostilities violations in the Equatorias and Greater Bahr el Ghazal;
• increase its political presence on the ground in South Sudan;
• open four separate negotiation tracks, both in Addis and South Sudan, sequenced and pursued so as to contribute to the broader national political dialogue and focused on: 1) the SPLM (supported by South Africa's ANC party and Ethiopia's EPRDF party); 2) a re-activated Political Parties Forum; 3) armed groups; and 4) communal conflict;
• address the questions surrounding inclusivity in the peace process by ensuring selection of representatives is transparent, their numbers are increased, and there are clear mechanisms for civil society or community leaders not part of the official process to contribute to the dialogue in Addis and South Sudan; and
• start dialogue with all armed groups and militarised communities; failure to do so is inadvertently making spoilers of those who could be constructively engaged. Much of the dialogue and work with community representatives, armed groups and militarised communities should take place in South Sudan, not in Addis.  (Source: International Crisis Group)

The Descent into Hell

THE DESCENT INTO HELL There are various traditions as to the meaning of this: In one version, the idea is that the sin of Adam and Eve closed the gates of heaven and they remained sealed until the death of Jesus. Jesus' death opened them and Jesus, himself, in the time between his death and resurrection, descended into hell (Sheol, the Underworld) where all the souls who had died since the time of Adam somehow rested. He took them all to heaven. His "descending into hell", in this version of things, refers to his going into the underworld after his death to rescue those souls. Another understanding suggests that Jesus' descent into hell refers especially to the manner of his death, to the depth of chaos and darkness he had to endure there, and to how the depth of love, trust, and forgiveness he revealed inside that darkness manifests a love that can penetrate into any hell that can be created. John’s gospel gives us this picture: On the day Jesus rose from the dead, he finds his disciples huddled in fear inside a locked room. Jesus does not stand outside the door and knock, waiting for the disciples to come and open the door. He goes right through the locked doors, stands inside their huddled circle of fear, and breathes out peace to them. He isn't helpless to enter when they are too frightened, depressed, and wounded to open the door for him. He can descend into their hell by going through the doors they have locked out of fear. That is also true for the various private hells into which we sometimes descend. We can reach a point in our lives where others can no longer reach into our pain and where we are too wounded, frightened, and paralysed to open the door to let anyone in. Human care can no longer reach us. But Jesus can enter those locked doors, can descend into our hell. That understanding gives us hope when, humanly, there isn't any. Sometimes, because of illness and someone we love can descend into a place where we, no matter our love and effort, can no longer reach. But not all is lost: Jesus can descend into that hell and, even there, breathe out a peace that again orders the chaos. (Fr. Ron Rolheiser, OMI)

Sudanese Bishop Warns Case of Meriam Ibrahim Could Be Repeated

Says Christians at Risk of Further Severe Rights Violations

JUBA, July 11, 2014 (Zenit.org) - By Reinhard Backes and John Newton of Aid to the Church in Need
A bishop has warned that more Sudanese Christians could suffer severe violations of human rights – like Meriam Ibrahim – stating that their legal protection in the country has been taken away.

Speaking to Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need, Bishop Eduardo Hiiboro Kussala of Tombura-Yambio, in neighbouring South Sudan, described the “worrying” legal situation of Christians since his country seceded from Sudan in July 2011.

Stressing concerns for fellow clergy in particular, Bishop Hiiboro said: “In Sudan bishops and priests have been living de facto as illegals since South Sudan’s independence.” While Sudan’s constitution guarantees equal rights regardless of a person’s religion, Christians face discrimination under the law.

The bishop said: “When we confront those in charge with this, they emphasise that Christians have the same rights as their compatriots, but this changes nothing in legal terms. Bishops and priests are not granted passports and they do not have legal status. They are able to leave the country but re-entry may be refused.
“Priests have already been expelled – and the bishops are condemned to remain silent.”

The Bishop of Tombura-Yambio told ACN that, while there is freedom of worship for Sudan’s more than 3 million Christians, they do not have the full protection under the law. He said: “Christians in Sudan can attend divine service unmolested, but there is no genuine freedom of religion and conscience in the country.

“This is illustrated by the disgraceful case of Meriam Yahia Ibrahim Ishaq, which, unlike any others, has been widely publicised.” This 27-year-old Sudanese Christian woman was arrested in May and condemned to death and 100 lashes for apostasy and adultery, before courts quashed her sentence.

Bishop Hiiboro said: “Among those around her she had long been known as a Christian. For whatever motives, she was blackmailed and then charged. The government expressed no view on the matter and simply left it all to the Islamic clerics.”

The accusation of apostasy came because Meriam Ibrahim’s father was Muslim, but her mother was Orthodox and raised her as a Christian. Meriam Ibrahim was only released in June following international pressure, having given birth to her younger child while shackled in prison. The family is sheltering in the US embassy – her husband Daniel Wani is a US citizen – after allegations of forged travel papers prevented them leaving Sudan for the US.

According to Bishop Hiiboro, discrimination against Christians is a reaction to the division of the country three years ago. He said: “Because the Church has always called on those with political responsibility to respect the dignity of the people, their freedom and also their vote in favour of the independence of the South, it is now being made responsible for the South’s break-away. “But the Church does not pursue any political aims. We only call upon politicians to respect freedom of religious faith and conscience.”

There is still a joint Catholic Bishops’ Conference for Sudan and South Sudan, which has the inter-religious dialogue with Muslims as one of its key concerns.
(Source: Zenit)

15th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 15^th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Isaiah 55: 10-11; Romans8: 18-23; Matthew 13: 1-23

Gospel Passage: “Seeds that fell on good ground and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.” (Mt. 13: 8)

Meditation:  Are we the good ground that allows the seeds to bear fruit – some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, and some thirtyfold…?

Wherever we are and whatever we do, the challenge of the life of Christ in us is to share it and in sharing this life in our good deeds, we multiply the gift in abundance.

SIMPLE METHOD of Reflection..

1^st step: Write the passage in your heart.

2^nd step: Let the passage remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the passage silently as often as possible...

3^rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the passage in your  

14th Sunday in Ordinary Time (A)

Short Reflection for the 14^th Sunday of the Ordinary Time (A)

Readings: Zechariah 9: 9-19; Romans 8: 9, 11-13; Matthew 11: 25-30

Gospel Passage: "Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11: 28)

Meditation: We need NOT carry our crosses ALONE… Life is NOT an endurance test!  Are you weary and fret over about many things? Often we act like gods… We are NOT! We need to learn how to relinquish control… and let go and allow God to be in control…

Bapa Jun

Visit:  www.badaliyya.blogspot.com

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

Dhikr is an Arabic word which means REMEMBRANCE.

1st step: Write the text in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (A)

Dhikr for the Corpus Christi Sunday (A)

Reading: Deuteronomy 8: 2-3 - 3: 14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10: 16-17; John 6: 51-58

Text: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." (John 6: 51)

Meditation: The Feast of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ reminds us of the price of redemption.  He broke his body and shed his blood that we may have life!  Thus when we eat his body and drink his blood we share his life.

Today, we, too, journey through arid ways and arduous paths. At times, this journey is characterized by hopelessness and near despair, but in the midst of all these,  we know believe that through the Body and Blood of Jesus, the Lord, we know that we can find the way.

(Bapa Jun)

DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Trinity Sunday (A)

Dhikr for the Pentecost Sunday (A)

Text: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life.” (John 3: 16)

 Meditation: We begin to understand the one Triune God through the contemplation of God as LOVE. 

 The Feast states that in every love there are always three realities or subjects: one who loves, one who is loved and the love that unites them. Where God is understood as absolute power, there is no need for there to be more than one person, for power can be exercised quite well by one person; but if God is understood as absolute love, then it cannot be this way.  The life of the Trinity is a mystery of relation. This means that the divine persons do not “have” relations, but rather “are” relations.

 ‘In knowing the Father (The Lover), the Son (the Beloved) and the Spirit (love), we catch a glimpse that, in his innermost being, God is a dialogue, a life of love among the three Persons. This is the originality of the Christian conception of God, and it is here that man finds the true explanation of himself. Man feels an irrepressible yearning for community, solidarity and dialogue; he needs it to live and grow, he needs it more than the air. But it is only in the light of the Trinity that this finding acquires an unexpected depth: we are meant to meet, to dialogue and to love, because we are "image of God", and God is, in fact - as far as we are given to understand - a community of love.’ (Mons. Francesco Follo)

 DHIKR SIMPLE METHOD

 1st step: Write the text or Dhikr (the Arabic word for REMEMBRANCE) in your heart.

2nd step: Let the text remain always in on your lips and mind - RECITING the text silently as often as possible...

3rd step:  Be attentive to the disclosure of the meaning/s of the text in your life.

Committee for National Healing Peace and Reconciliation

COMMITTEE FOR NATIONAL HEALING, PEACE AND RECONCILIATION (CNHPR)

JUBA - The Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR) in collaboration with South Sudan Peace and Reconciliation Commission (SSPRC) and Specialised Committee on Peace and Reconciliation in the National Legislative Assembly (SCPR/NLA) held a two day Women Consultation Workshop with the main aim of understanding and incorporating the views of women in the process of peace and reconciliation in South Sudan.

The two day workshop held under the theme “Women as Agents of Change’attracted over thirty seven women from various organizations which included religious, entrepreneurs, journalists and lawyers groups among others. The forum explored the roles and duties Women can play while sharing their views on how they can at all times observe neutrality in the face of the prevailing situation in the country.

The Secretary General of Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation Dr. Bernard Suwa said that due to the current crisis in the country, women have to be involved in the search for a long lasting peace. He urged women to play their role in the national healing and reconciliation process and to be able to change the bad history of bloodshed and suffering to a history of brotherhood and peaceful coexistence.

The participants shared their views and concerns on the causes and way forward in regard to the current conflict that has shattered the country. ‘I was born during war, grew up in war and now likely to produce and raise my children in war, is this going to be the trend for South Sudanese? Has South Sudan become a land of misery, bloodshed and suffering’ lamented Gladys Kiden, one of the participants at the consultative forum.

She urged women to take the lead in making peace possible in South Sudan. “It’s time for us women to wake up and bring out the brain and show the love we have for our country, we need to work hand in hand and protect each other” explained Gladys. She further         advised women to work together and advocate for better leadership saying that what happened on the 15th December 2013 is a turning point for women to know and advocate for their rights.

In his keynote speech, His Grace Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul the Chairperson of the Committee for National Healing Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR) called on women to spearhead the peace process by embracing unity and shunning divisions based on political and tribal differences. He told women that there is need for all South Sudanese to put together their minds and explore a way out of the current crisis.

Archbishop Daniel Deng also underscored the importance of dialogue, adding that people need to come together and discuss issues that will help correct the past for a better future instead of prizing the past and playing blame games.

“If we don’t engage in dialogue, it will be very difficult for us to bring the current crisis to an end. If we don’t speak together, somebody will take the honors and speak on our behalf and this will never bring lasting peace and that’s why we have formed a platform to work together and speak the same language, the language of peace” emphasized Archbishop Daniel Deng.

The women came up with suggestions that can help arrest the current situation facing the country. The suggestions which are directly to the government include training and professionalizing the army by creating standard military training colleges, taking military barracks out of civilian residential areas, transforming civil service and infrastructural development among others.

Archbishop Daniel Deng Mobilizing the Community in Greater Yirol, Lakes State for Peace

Mobilizing for Peace in the Greater Yirol On March 29th, in Yirol, Lakes State Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul informed      the greater Yirol community (both east and

west Yiro counties) about the future plans of the Committee for National Healing, Peace and            Reconciliation (CNHPR). Among those who attended included church leaders, government officials (including executive director Machuror Anyieth from Yirol West,    executive director Ajuong Nhial of Yirol East etc.), two paramount chiefs, civil society, and many more totaling at approximately 1,500 people.

His Grace gave a brief history of his past experiences on the subject of peace and reconciliation in South Sudan (2012 Jonglei peace agreement, meeting with George Athore etc.), and his recent appointment as the chairman of CNHPR by presidential decree.

He then went on to describe the organizational structure of the committee (executive members, state representation, special interest groups and state subcommittees, etc.). He explained CNHPR had faced financial challenges in the past but still have undertaken many accomplishments (meeting in Kuron, established national secretariat) despite facing financial difficulties.

Paramount Chief of Yirol West Andrew Madut Addressing the Congregation

His Grace spoke about the future mobilization process that will take place throughout Lakes State and the entire nation. CNHPR intends get to the root causes to the conflicts that trouble southerners by asking the people themselves what is troubling them. “For example, here in Yirol the paramount chief will organize the communities to come talk about issues facing the community internal and externally” (eloping, murder, etc.). CNHPR plans to train 50 peace mobilizers in Lakes state to facilitate community level consultations, which in sequence will reach the payam, county state, and national levels to create a national agenda for reconciliation.

It was described that as the communities discuss there histories together they will begin to talk about forms of justice to right some of the wrongs in the past. There are many traditions in South Sudan that can be utilized and document to serve various types of traditional justice that will work at alongside of “government mandated justice”.

His Grace then to discussed the history of conflict in the country. He explained that since the creation of Sudan people of the Southern region of Sudan have not ben allowed to come together, outside forces have persistently divided the citizens for a longtime (e.g. colonialism, Arabs, etc.). When the people of the country finally received their freedom in 2011 they were left traumatized and did not know how to

speak with one voice and move in one direction. In the recent crisis of Southerners fighting Southerners. “It is time that we put          this to and end we need to all talk about what has happened and move forward to peace so our county can develop”.

The congregation dancing and singing enthusiastically followed the Archbishops speech.

Archbishop closed the meeting with a brief message. He thanked everyone for allowing him to peace and said that if the greater Yirol and Bor untied hands the center of South Sudan would be in peace and the peace would spread to the rest of the country.

Dinka and Nuer pastors form an alliance toward Peace and Reconciliation

Dinka and Nuer pastors in a discussion session during the workshop, facilitated by Archbishop Daniel Deng

JUBA: The Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation (CNHPR) held a two day workshop which brought together pastors from Dinka and Nuer communities to discuss ways of coming together to lead the process of peace and reconciliation among their respective Communities.

The two-day workshop which was held under the theme “building the spirit of trust among the Dinka and Nuer pastors” was convened by the Chairperson of CNHPR Archbishop Dr. Daniel Deng Bul and attended by senior clergies from mostly three denominations of; South Sudan Presbyterian Evangelical (SSPEC), The Episcopal Church of South Sudan and South Sudan (ECSSS) and the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan (PCOSS). The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church of South Sudan Rev. James Par was among the participants.

The event was an important opportunity for Church leaders to discuss the impact of the current crisis, to hear first-hand the plight on the IDP communities, and to explore how best to respond.

As an agenda on its strategic planning for the process of Peace and Reconciliation, the Committee for National Healing, Peace and Reconciliation encourages partners like the church leaders to step up mobilization efforts towards a nationwide peace and reconciliation process.

The Committee called on the pastors to build trust among themselves so that they can effectively lead the process of Peace and Reconciliation.

While addressing 42 pastors at the workshop, Dr. Daniel Deng said that the church has to speak the truth about the targeted and tribal killings carried out on both sides of Nuer and Dinka communities during the crisis. He called on all parties to the conflict to accept that the church is neutral and has to be trusted and recognized as a mediator in the process of peace.

“We have to speak the truth that Nuer and Dinka have committed atrocities against each other. Atrocities have been committed on both communities and we the Church are not party to what happened. We have to be the mediators to bring peace to our communities.” Said Archbishop Deng, adding that the people being killed are the church congregations and therefore, the church should be concerned.

Archbishop Deng also advised the pastors to make peace a locally made product and not to allow their communities to be used as projects by some external elements that come in the name of peace and yet may not really bring peace to the people.

Rev. Paul Bol Kuel of the Presbyterian Church said that the liberation and independence of this nation happened once and for all as a gift from God to the people of South Sudan, and whoever is thinking of another liberation is just planning to destroy the country.

Rev. Peter Joh of the Episcopal Church of South Sudan and Sudan also maintained a spiritual position of gospel campaigns to preach the word of God as the only way to end hostilities among the South Sudanese communities.

During the two day discussion, pastors discussed and agreed on a number resolutions and modalities that should be employed to facilitate the process of peace and reconciliation.

Among these resolutions, pastors agreed to form an ad-hoc committee that will lead the process of peace and reconciliation among the Nuer and Dinka communities. A pastors committee comprising of seven members from both Nuer and Dinka communities was formed and will take the lead in conducting consultative meetings with government officials, IDPs and their respective communities.

In a quest for peace in the country, the pastors agreed to lead a peaceful marching in Juba and other areas under South Sudan Council of Churches to denounce use of violence as a means to resolve political differences.

In his closing remarks, Archbishop Deng told the pastors that he had heard what the church leaders from the two communities had to say, and that CNPHR will work to support them and the Seven Member Committee in promoting national peace and reconciliation.