SOUTHERN Sudan’s remarkable 79-year-old Bishop Joseph Gasi was in Brisbane recently carrying a message of hope for his countrymen, and words of thanks to Australians for their ongoing humanitarian support.
Bishop Gasi of Tombura-Yambio diocese also delivered a plea for help for his war-torn country at his official welcome to Brisbane at the Francis Rush Centre on July 4.
It was much the same plea the bishop had delivered at Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, Canberra, Tasmania and Sydney since his arrival in Australia on May 28.
He extended an invitation for all present to come to his diocese “to see, to judge and to act” on the needs of his vast and poverty-stricken diocese as it attempted to rebuild after 21 years of continuous civil war.
It was a vast diocese, he said, covering 81,000 sq kms with a population of more than a million people, 50 per cent of whom were Catholics.
The diocese’s needs are also vast, he said.
They include things as basic as soap and nails, desks and writing material through to the expertise of teachers and health workers.
Present at the Francis Rush Centre gathering, organised by Caritas and Catholic Mission, were representatives from government, church and private agencies connected with supporting Sudanese refugees.
Bishop Gasi was next to visit Toowoomba for a day on July 6 and then returning to Brisbane for a celebration of his impending golden jubilee by the Sudanese community at Yeronga State High School the following day.
He also celebrated a Mass, complete with traditionally dressed dancers and singers, in St Stephen’s Cathedral on Sunday July 8.
Anyone wishing to offer assistance with rebuilding Sudan can contact Daniel Zingifuaboro from St Bakhita Pastoral Council on 0408 197 954 or at zingifuaboro@yahoo.com
