Bishop’s shooting reveals the living Judas Iscariots

On Tuesday, suspect number 6 in the case of the shooting of Rumbek Catholic Diocese Bishop-elect Fr. Christian Carlassare revealed that the mastermind behind the attack was the caretaker of the Diocese, Fr. John Mathiang.

The suspect, who was speaking in the High Court in Juba, turned down the offer by the team’s defence lawyer to speak on his behalf and testified that the attack was planned and executed by Fr. John.

According to the suspect, Fr., John organised three of them to attack the bishop-elect in order to scare the Italian into fleeing and never returning to the Rumbek Diocese.

According to the statement, the mentioned cleric held several meetings with the attackers, and they agreed to attack on April 24, 2021. However, they were unable to proceed with the attack on the planned date after the son of one of the suspects fell ill. They had to reschedule it for April 25, 2021, and exactly on that date, Bishop-elect Fr. Christian Carlassare, was attacked at night.

This confession of the suspect reminds us of a biblical script on how Jesus Christ was betrayed by one of his twelve disciples, called Judas Iscariot, with whom he had been living and sharing meals for quite some time.

However, when Satan entered Judas Iscariot’s heart, he went to the chief priests and the officers of the temple guard and discussed with them how he might betray Jesus. It is just like how Fr. John Mathiang is said to have coaxed the poor men and plotted against Bishop-elect Fr. Christian Carlassare.

Bishop-elect Fr. Christain Carlassare was attacked seven days after Easter, meaning, the plot to attack him might have started even much earlier as the faithful were preparing to celebrate their Lord’s resurrection. It was also during the same period, as per the Catholic Church calendar when Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus Christ.

When the time came, Judas Iscariot led a crowd armed with swords to arrest Jesus. He approached Jesus to kiss him, but Jesus asked him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?”  Jesus knew it was not that kiss that demonstrated love for someone.

Similarly, the suspects also pretended to show love and sympathy for Bishop-elect Carlassare by lifting him inside the room after two of his legs were raptured by bullets they had just fired. This was like the kiss to Jesus by Judas Iscariot that did not demonstrate any love at all but betrayal.

It clearly states that there are several other Judas Iscariots who still live among us. It is so saddening to hear of a priest who plotted against his colleague despite what they always preach to the congregation. Don’t kill, and love your neighbours as you love yourself.