The Italian Bishop-elect shot by armed assailants in Lakes State capital Rumbek said he will carry on with his duty undeterred.
Christian Carlassare was shot in both legs after ‘unknown’ gunmen stormed his residence Monday morning for an unspecified reason.
From a hospital where he was admitted in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, Carlassare said while his legs will require some time to heal, he is not giving up on evangelism.
“I take this chance to greet all of you my brothers and sister in Rumbek I want you to be at peace to know that I am well here in hospital (Nairobi) and been taken care and am improving.
Trapped on the hospital bed, Carlassare added that “It will take some time for my legs to be able to walk again but I assure you that I will be back and I will be with you.”
Calls for reconciliation
Carlassare called on fellow Christians and community in Lakes State, Rumbek to converge, reconcile and forgive one another for the betterment of South Sudan.
“Please let us be united in prayers, let us be united with all our hearts, let us promote forgiveness,” he said.
“I see the values of unity and forgiveness present in each one of you, although I am far from you, but I feel united with you and also be untied with me in this process of reconciliation,” added the Bishop-elect.
Carlassare was elected as Bishop of the Diocese of Rumbek last month. He was appointed by Pope Francis as the Head of Rumbek Diocese.
He arrived in Lakes State less than two weeks ago and was cheerfully welcomed by the faithful in the state.
On April 25, (Sunday night) he was shot by unidentified Rumbek armed men and the motive behind his shooting remains unclear.
Carlassare was immediately rushed to the Rumbek Hospital where he got his first treatment before he was flown to Nairobi where he is currently being treated.
The authorities in Rumbek later announced the arrest of over 25 suspects in connection in Bishop-elect’s shooting including senior church officials.
Last week, high level delegation of security personnel from Juba left to Lakes State, Rumbek to investigate the incident that left the Bishop-elect wounded.
After their arrival back to Juba, the Acting and Deputy Spokesperson for South Sudan National Police Col. James Dak Karlo said after a few investigations in Rumbek, it was believed that the incident was planned by certain group which he did not mention.
“We reached the scene where the incident happened and we discovered that the incident was a conspiracy and well-organized crime with intention to harm the Bishop, simple,” he said.
“Because within the compound there are about seven rooms and the rooms for bishop is towards the end, how did the attackers identify where the bishop was and there were other priests in rooms 1, 2, 3 until bishop’s room,” one of the local newspapers quoted.