Skip to content
The Catholic Leader
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute
No Result
View All Result
The Catholic Leader
No Result
View All Result
Home People

Miracle of forgiveness

byGuest Contributor
12 May 2015 - Updated on 1 April 2021
Reading Time: 4 mins read
AA

Healing mission: Carmelite Father Aurelio Gazzera is a man taking on a mission to help heal the wounds in the relationship between Christians and Muslims in Central African Republic. Photos: Aid to the Church in Need

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Healing mission: Carmelite Father Aurelio Gazzera is a man taking on a mission to help heal the wounds in the relationship between Christians and Muslims in Central African Republic. Photos: Aid to the Church in Need
Healing mission: Carmelite Father Aurelio Gazzera is a man taking on a mission to help heal the wounds in the relationship between Christians and Muslims in Central African Republic.
Photos: Aid to the Church in Need

By Eva-Maria Kolmann

CARMELITE Father Aurelio Gazzera was almost lynched by an angry mob in Central African Republic.

He prayed the Rosary as rocks pelted his car and furious people pointed weapons at him.

The priest had brought the wrath of a number of Muslims down upon himself by supporting the withdrawal of the Séléka (predominantly Muslim) insurgents; some of the Muslims felt that they had been left completely open to acts of revenge from the rest of the population.

However, as he was now being attacked by the mob, two Muslims stepped in front of him and saved his life.

One of them was an insurgent who was notoriously known as being one of the most brutal of men.

In the past he had complained that Fr Aurelio was publicly denouncing the crimes of the Séléka.

He had threatened to kill the priest himself.

Now he was saving the missionary from death.

The 52-year-old Italian Carmelite priest took the Gospels literally: “Do good to those who hate you!”

Related Stories

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Immediately after this incident, he began to head out several times a day with a few volunteers from his parish to visit those Muslims who had barricaded themselves in close quarters to save themselves from acts of revenge.

He provided them with drinking water, rice and medicine that he paid for out of his own pocket, but he said his main incentive was to give them comfort.

“These were the same people who had threatened me and broken the windows of my car with rocks,” Fr Aurelio said.

“Now they were nothing more than frightened children, women and men who were in need.”

As time went on, Fr Aurelio eventually managed to soften the hearts of his parishioners as well. After most of the Muslims were evacuated by convoy in February of 2014, there were only about 200 of them left in the city of Bozoum, and most of them were women and children.

They still need help today.

At first, Fr Aurelio only cautiously ventured to ask his parishioners to bring money and provisions to the church to help the Muslims.

“I did not insist too strongly because I know that the wounds are still fresh (after violence involving the Séléka),” he said.

“Many have lost family members, others have relatives who were tortured, several were robbed and all of them had to stay away from their homes for weeks at a time, and all because of the Séléka and a few Muslims.”

However, in the end Fr Aurelio was overwhelmed by the parishioners’ generosity.

“Normally, the parishioners contribute a few provisions for the orphans and a little money, about 15 to 20 euros ($21 to $28 AUD), to the collection for the poor that we hold once a month,” he said.

“On that Sunday, I was profoundly touched by my Christians.

“They brought a very large amount of food and collected more than 70 euros ($97 AUD)!”

Fr Aurelio said he was deeply moved.

“The parishioners found it in themselves to do a lot more for yesterday’s enemy than they usually do for their brothers and sisters, the poor of the parish,” he said.

An important role model for Fr Aurelio is Aid to the Church in Need founder Fr Werenfried van Straaten, who became legendary as the “Bacon Priest”.

Fr Aurelio had already read his book Where God Weeps while he was still at school.

Since then, he has had the opportunity to visit ther priest’s in Königstein, Germany.

Now, after many years, the missionary has re-read Fr Werenfried’s book.

“I discovered many interesting items in the book that also apply to our situation here,” Fr Aurelio said.

“After the Second World War, Fr Werenfried initiated an extraordinary charitable effort: he asked the Dutch to help the Germans!

“After the war, Germany was destroyed in every respect.

“And the resentment harboured against the Germans was very strong.

“However, Fr Werenfried had the courage and daring to ask those people who had almost lost everything because of the Germans to help the German refugees who had lost everything.”

History is now repeating itself in the faraway Central African Republic.

Today, in the aftermath of the dark times of war, Fr Aurelio often ponders the question: “As priest and missionary, what can I do in this situation? What can the Church do?”

And he has come to the conclusion: “We can do so much, really so much!

“It is now more necessary than ever to rebuild the hearts and the conscience of the people.”

He then talked about how much there is to do: houses were destroyed, hundreds of thousands of people have fled, the destitution is inconceivable following years of internal fighting.

However, Fr Aurelio said the most important work was “to comfort, to encourage and to promote awareness of the mistakes, the evil and the sin”. “This type of crisis is an appeal that affects us deeply and that encourages us to follow the example set by Jesus, His Gospel and His life more closely,” he said.

“He is the one who gives strength and courage. He opens up the paths of light and hope.

“As Fr Werenfried used to say: Place your trust in people. Because people are better than we think. However, not only people, but also God is better than we think …”

Aid to the Church in Need, the organisation founded by Fr Werenfried supports this work in Central African Republic through donations for the training of seminarians and religious who will be the peacemakers of the future.

In addition, the charitable organisation is helping to rebuild and supports the work of the Church in a country that is one of the poorest in the world.

Eva-Maria Kolmann for Aid to the Church in Need

ShareTweet
Previous Post

Disaster inspires $26,000 donation

Next Post

Doing it tough

Guest Contributor

Related Posts

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

20 May 2022
Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition
QLD

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning
QLD

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Next Post
Daily battle: Moggill family Aimee and Jared Smith, with their children Lily and Lucian, like many others, find life hard on the basic wage. Photo: Alan Edgecomb

Doing it tough

Sharing the Catholic voice

Online savvy: Beth Doherty with her new book, “Tweet others as you wish to be tweeted”.

New book faces up to social media

Popular News

  • Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    Here are the stories of 10 new saints being canonised this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Queensland election: The pro-life political parties committed to abortion law reforms

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Parishes unite for Logan deanery family festival this Sunday

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • What is lust?

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
Search our job finder
No Result
View All Result

Latest News

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies
QLD

Gwen has given 15,000 hours of cuddles to sick and premature babies

by Joe Higgins
20 May 2022
0

BRISBANE grandmother Gwendoline Grant has clocked up 15,000 hours cuddling and caring for sick and premature babies...

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

Helping stroke survivors earns Ozcare volunteer national recognition

20 May 2022
Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

Br Alan Moss remembered for a life of faith and learning

19 May 2022
Catholic relationship advisers offer five tips to look after your mental health

Nationwide rosary event happening for Australia’s patroness this Saturday

19 May 2022
Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

Francis offers advice on politics: Seek unity, don’t get lost in conflict

19 May 2022

Never miss a story. Sign up to the Weekly Round-Up
eNewsletter now to receive headlines directly in your email.

Sign up to eNews
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Contribute
  • Jobs
  • Subscribe

The Catholic Leader is an Australian award-winning Catholic newspaper that has been published by the Archdiocese of Brisbane since 1929. Our journalism seeks to provide a full, accurate and balanced Catholic perspective of local, national and international news while upholding the dignity of the human person.

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader
Accessibility Information | Privacy Policy | Archdiocese of Brisbane

The Catholic Leader acknowledges Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people as the First Peoples of this country and especially acknowledge the traditional owners on whose lands we live and work throughout the Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • QLD
    • Australia
    • Regional
    • Education
    • World
    • Vatican
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Life
    • Family
    • Relationships
    • Faith
  • Culture
  • People
  • Subscribe
  • Jobs
  • Contribute

Copyright © All Rights Reserved The Catholic Leader

0
    0
    Your Cart
    Your cart is emptyChoose another Subscription
    Continue Shopping