Rumbek’s Catholic bishop travels to Italy seeking for education funds

By Manyang Mayom

January 19, 2011 (RUMBEK) – The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Rumbek (DOR), Lordship Caesar Mazzolari, is on his way to Italy to raise funds to support schools in the Catholic dioceses of Sudan, both in the north and south of the country.

Speaking to Catholic radio before leaving Rumbek for Italy, Bishop Mazzolari said that he has been delegated by the Sudan Catholic Bishops’ Conference “to obtain funding from the Conference of the Italian bishops” to support schools in Sudan.

Bishop Mazzolari also said that he is going to report on the use of the funding that has been given since 2007 in view of obtaining more funding to be used for the construction of school structures and the payment of teachers.

The Bishop said that the nine-day fundraising mission in Italy will aim at widening the range of donors by contacting different people who have expressed the wish to help the people of Sudan, among them, the lady ambassador to the Vatican from Canada. Bishop Mazzolari asked for prayers for the success of the mission entrusted to him by his brother bishops of Sudan.

He explained how he would meet the Maltese people who “sponsored the Loreto school here in Rumbek,” and hoped to “visit more donors to help the mission in Sudan.”

He reaffirmed that “we have come to the conclusion of the referendum, I leave with joy in my heart to see that God has answer our prayers, the campaigning efforts of all our political leaders, and it had grained to us referendum that was meet with mix feeling both peace and joy, to see the turnout for our people to creating new nation”.

The Catholic Church in Sudan has almost singlehandedly supported educational institutions throughout the many years of civil war. The mission of the Bishop in Italy will conclude on 28 January.

(ST)