AMERICA/COLOMBIA - "Cry for peace" of the Bishops of Chocó and Antioquia to criminal groups: ceasefire for one hundred days

Tuesday, 30 March 2021 area crisis armed groups violence coronavirus local churches

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Quibdó (Agenzia Fides) - At the beginning of the Holy Week celebrations, the bishops of the dioceses of Quibdó, Istmina-Tadó and Apartadó, launch an appeal to criminal groups for a 100-day ceasefire. "Faced with the unbearable situation of violence, illegality and social exclusion in our territory, we launched an umpteenth and anguishing cry for peace and dignity - they write in their message -. We invite the armed protagonists and criminal groups to a ceasefire for one hundred days, which will allow us to open spaces for reflection and implement humanitarian agreements that open the horizon towards the integral peace that we need in the city of Quibdó and in the other municipalities of the Departments of Chocó and Antioquia which are part of our particular Churches".
The Bishops hope that criminal groups will accept this appeal, so that homicides, injuries, kidnappings, extortion, imprisonment, displacement, recruitment of minors, threats and disorders affecting indigenous, Afro-descendant and mestizo communities will stop. "On the other hand - they continue - institutions must respond effectively to the cry of citizens who demand rights, security and dialogue. Likewise, civil society must renounce any attitude of indifference and conformity so that it can contribute constructively to the required solutions".
In their message for Holy Week 2021, the Bishops exhort Catholics to "live the Paschal Mystery intensely", by participating in person or virtually, in the Holy Week celebrations, so that they become "a space for prayer, reflection, conversion and commitment that makes us better people", accepting the proposal of Pope Francis so that this year the reality of the Family and the figure of Saint Joseph may be deepened. The Bishops of Chocó and Antioquia invite Catholics, Christians of other religious denominations and other sectors of civil society to grow in family harmony, respect for religious traditions and in observance of the rules in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic. "Disorders, excesses, corruption and abuses in social coexistence are not consistent with the Christian faith and with other expressions of spirituality and civic culture". (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 30/3/2021)