“There is no black, red, white; we are equal. In the Church there is no discrimination between men and women; we are brothers and sisters and we work together. In the Church there is no rich and poor; we are one in Christ,” Carlassare emphasized.
Fr.Carlassare was born in Italy. He made his solemn profession as a member of the Comboni Missionaries in 2003, was ordained a priest of the institute in 2004, and went to South Sudan in 2005.
He was appointed Bishop of Rumbek March 8, 2021, after a vacancy of nearly 10 years. He was to have been consecrated a bishop the following May 23, but he was shot in the early hours of April 26.
Two armed men fired multiple bullets at his door, gaining access to his room in the rectory of Holy Family Cathedral. He was shot in both legs.
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After initial treatment in Rumbek, he was airlifted to a hospital in Nairobi. He was discharged for home care in May, and returned to Italy.
In June 2021, police in Lakes state arrested a second person suspected of involvement in the shooting.
The arrest brought the number of those detained concerning the incident to six, among them Father John Mathiang, who served as Rumbek’s diocesan coordinator from December 2013 to May 5, 2021.
Mathiang was removed as diocesan coordinator on the appointment of Bishop Matthew Remijio Gbitiku of Wau as apostolic administrator of Rumbek.
Two of the six suspects in the shooting were freed earlier in March because of what a judge called a “lack of evidence against them.”
Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.