Franciscan Friar’s sights set on South Sudan for next three years

FRANCISCAN Father Mario Debattista has another three years in mind for his upcoming mission to Juba, South Sudan.

He ministered for three years from 2013 to 2016 before civil war-related tensions flared up and he was forced to leave with two students in his care.

“I got them out the day it (the fighting) started,” he said. “We left in the morning and the fighting started in the afternoon.”

Conditions had improved in South Sudan since he left.

Safety precautions still had to be taken when travelling, especially a stretch of chapels in the care of the Franciscans down 60km of a “very bad road” outside Juba.

“When I left last time, the Church was speaking out more and more against the government, and getting threats from the government – but for the right reasons, because it was speaking out against abuses,” Fr Debattista said.

“The Church is one of the few institutions, let’s call it an institution, that actually does things for people (in South Sudan).

“There’s lots of NGOs but the Church is much more on-the-ground.”

Part of his ministry in Juba last time was with the refugees in the United Nations Mission in South Sudan.

“You can go on Google Maps and see them for yourself,” he said. “Go to Juba and then look for UNMISS.

“You’ll see these big patches of white little squares and all those white squares are … little huts full of refugees.”

Inside were schools, churches and hospitals, he said.

“We used to say Mass there – two Masses every Sunday – and we’d go during the week to visit people,” he said.

The refugees were mostly people targeted during the 2013 South Sudan civil war, who lost their homes in raids.

Memories were long, too, he said, and there had never been a truth-and-reconciliation process like in South Africa.

So much of the conflict returned to “group solidarity”, which Fr Debattista said had its good and bad sides.

“The good side is people really support each other,” he said.

“Especially in South Sudan where there’s been so much conflict and instability, your family and your local tribal groups … they are your social security system; there’s no government social security to speak of.”

The downside was it could cause people to see “the other people” as a threat, he said.

“That’s where, really, Jesus and the Gospels – if you look at them closely – Jesus is breaking across those group solidarity norms, and to make it a much more universal approach to life,” he said.

Fr Debattista said you could see this Jesus talk to the crowd in Matthew 12:46-50, when he asks the crowd, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 

Fr Debattista said Jesus was battling with the excesses of group solidarity.

“They were trying to keep Him in the clan and family, and He’s saying, “No my people are much broader than that’,” he said.

With a lot of work to be done in Juba, Fr Debattista said he would be returning to Brisbane regularly to take breaks from his ministry and the harsh climate.

His past six years at Kedron parish were precious to him and taught him new lessons.

In all his ministry, he had only been the parish priest in an Australian parish once, for one year temporarily.

He had always wanted to try it out, “being the parish priest”. 

The past few years as Kedron parish priest had been a revelation.

“I genuinely enjoy celebrating the liturgy with the parishioners,” he said.

“For me, it’s not a chore; I genuinely enjoy it and when I don’t do it, especially during the COVID lockdown, I hated that.

“I felt bereft, I felt like I wasn’t seeing people, I hated it. 

“I did the YouTube stuff just precisely to be in contact with people, and I worked very hard and every time I could do something I worked very hard to get the church open again. 

“And that’s what I believe; Eucharist means we gather and we meet and pray together and know each other as best we can, and I genuinely enjoy it.”

He said he would also miss his chaplaincy at the University of Queensland.

Initially, he thought he was the wrong man for the job.

“But I really grew into it,” he said.

“I developed a very good relationship with the students there and I will miss their life and their fun and their curiosity and their faith.”

While he would miss his family in Brisbane, he said he knew family would always be there for him.

He said it had been a blessing to be back in Brisbane for the time his mum was getting sicker and eventually died.

“That was a real blessing to be here in those final years,” he said.

His final thanks went to his parish colleagues Sandra and Rob, who he said had been a wonderful team.

“I couldn’t have done it without them.”