| It is great and deep gratitude that Monsignor Christian Carlassare feels for the Pope who last July 4 in South Sudan erected the new diocese of Bentiu by appointing the prelate as the first Combonian bishop of a portion of the Church enclosed in two territories: that of Unity State, of which the city of Bentiu is the capital, and that of an autonomous administrative area of the Rouen, a population belonging to the Dinka tribe. A vast area that is close to 38 thousand square kilometers with a population of more than one million.
Future to be built The territory to create the Diocese of Bentiu was partly acquired from the Diocese of Malakal, which had become too large to continue to give full pastoral attention to all Christians. And after all, Monsignor Carlassare confirms, it would have been difficult to even imagine “the idea of having a shared pastoral plan among communities so different from each other.” The Italian-born missionary, who has been in South Sudan for nearly 20 years, explains to Vatican media that he is aware that from now on there will be everything to build: “There will really be a lot to put in place because the ethnic conflict of the past years has particularly hurt Bentiu but the people are strong, they have a great history of faith. For me it will be a demanding mission but one that will give fulfillment to my life, to the missionary that I am, always serving this population.” Contagious evangelization There is a moment of pure joy in the recent history of Bentiu’s evangelization that Monsignor Carlassare summarizes by going back with memories to the years of the civil war “that had forced many people to flee their territories to go to the cities where they came to know the Gospel. These men and women, once they returned to their communities, rallied people in a situation of poverty and conflict giving them the opportunity to confront the teachings of Jesus.” Lo and behold, from the 1990s until today, conversions have multiplied and many Christian communities moderated by willing and good catechists have sprung up. “If the number of priests in this territory has always been small, the communities are alive thanks precisely to the commitment of so many lay people,” the bishop adds. Small numbers for large territories The catechists number more than 600 and fit into a diocese that has at least 600,000 Christians. “The parishes,” says the Bentiu prelate, “are only 7 scattered in a very large territory: 3 parishes are in a territory of the Dinka tribe and 4 in a territory of the Nuer tribe. Also still few are the diocesan priests, at the moment there are only 7, while there are about 10 seminarians, including two deacons who will soon be ordained.” Missionaries are also not many: two Capuchins from the Polish Province and three Combonians. Reconciliation, priority challenge Monsignor Carlassare, who until now has ruled the diocese of Rumbek for no less than three years and who in 2021, shortly before his episcopal ordination, was ambushed in his rectory, being wounded in the legs by gunshots, knows well the joys and sorrows of the East African country. He knows well that war and fighting have torn the entire society apart and that the conflict, generated by bad governance and the inability to provide peace and development, is now exacerbating poverty that has also been exacerbated by floods. “The scars of the conflict,” the prelate says, ”also cause a strong enmity between the Dinka and Nuer communities, an enmity that we must help erase. Believing in reconciliation is possible and for our Church it becomes a really priority challenge.” Credits to: Federico Piana for VATICAN NEWS
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Date Published:30 July 2024 Author:Alice, Office Manager
Article Tags: Latest news, South Sudan, Solidarity, Bishop Carlassare, Reconciliation, New Diocese |
