South Sudan “a living parable of Christmas”: Catholic Bishop

Bishop Christian Carlassare of the Catholic Diocese of Bentiu in South Sudan has described the world’s youngest nation as “a living parable of Christmas” owing to the country's high poverty levels and divisions that he says continue to suppress hope among the people.

Bishop Carlassare's message is titled “A Christmas of Closeness to the Poor: Fraternity is Born in the Wounds of the World”.

He says that Christmas is a celebration of closeness and fraternity, one that calls for a poor and humble Church, capable of revealing Christ’s face to the world.

“South Sudan, young and wounded, is a living parable of Christmas. Where violence, poverty, and division seem to suffocate hope, the birth of the Son of God continues to shine forth as the most radical sign of God's closeness,” he said in the message shared with ACI Africa on Monday, December 1.

The pioneer Local Ordinary of the South Sudanese Diocese that Pope Francis erected in July 2024, who is also the Apostolic Administrator of Rumbek Diocese, said that God chooses to come into the world “where humanity groans and waits”, just as the situation in South Sudan.

“God chooses the path of poverty to reveal to us our true wealth,” he said, and added, “A Church that is poor and with the poor is the only Church capable of revealing to the world the merciful face of Christ.”

The Italian-born member of the Comboni Missionaries of the Heart of Jesus (MCCJ) explained that a poor Church is “unafraid of getting its hands dirty, one that seeks neither power nor relevance, but kneels before the suffering flesh of Christ in His little ones.”

A poor Church, he continued, “is a Church that walks, listens, accompanies, and allows itself to be accompanied.”

Bishop Carlassare said that a poor Church is one that “makes common cause with those who suffer”.

Referring to Pope Leo XIV’s first Apostolic Exhortation on love for the poor, Dilexi Te, issued in Rome on October 4, the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the Local Ordinary of South Sudanese Bentiu Diocese said that “love for the poor is not simply an act of charity, but a real participation in the very love of Christ.”

He explained that the preferential option for the poor, as the Holy Father says in ‘Dilexi Te’ is “the beating heart of the Church's mission and prophecy, and it’s not an optional choice, but the path that leads Christians back to the Gospel.

Quoting St. Daniel Comboni, the founder of his congregation, he further said, “The poor are our masters, those before whom we remove our sandals because it is there that God dwells. The poor are not merely recipients of aid.”

Instead, he said, the poor “are active subjects, silent teachers, the first evangelizers” whose wounds “speak to our pride”,  their faith “questions our certainties”, and their hope “shows us the path of conversion.”

Bishop Carlassare said Daniel Comboni refused to give up before a mission many considered impossible, and he continued to envision a prosperous future for Africa free from poverty and violence.

For this reason, he said, “We keep believing in a world where no one is discarded, where life is respected, and poverty is not a condemnation but a starting point for solidarity as we build a fraternal society.”

“We dream of a South Sudan where children can play without fear, where young people can go to school, and where it is no longer more likely for a girl to die in childbirth than to earn a high-school diploma,” he said.

He continued, “We dream of a land where resources are not a cause of injustice but a tool for development; a country where people can work and live with dignity, without depending on humanitarian aid.”

Bishop Carlassare said that Christmas invites Christians to look at the world through the “eyes of the Child of Bethlehem who does not dominate but gives Himself, does not conquer but loves, does not impose but welcomes.”

“This is the gift we can offer today to our wounded humanity: a love without limits, a hope that endures, a faith that embraces every man and woman and builds fraternity,” he said in his message shared with ACI Africa on Monday, December 1.

He implored, “I ask the Lord that this Christmas rekindle in us the courage to dream and to turn our dreams into concrete steps. May the God who became poor draw us closer to the poor of our time and give us eyes to recognize in them the living presence of the Christ who comes.”

Silas Mwale Isenjia is a Kenyan journalist with a great zeal and interest for Catholic Church related communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Linguistics, Media and Communication from Moi University in Kenya. Silas has vast experience in the Media production industry. He currently works as a Journalist for ACI Africa.

Source: https://www.aciafrica.org/news/18983/south-sudan-a-living-parable-of-christmas-catholic-bishop