AMERICA/COLOMBIA - The President of Celam: "huge amounts of money for the war instead of investing in combating the causes of the conflicts"

Wednesday, 27 July 2022 weapons wars local churches

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Bogota (Agenzia Fides) - "We regret with deep disappointment how huge amounts of money are allocated to war instead of investing in intelligently and completely in the fight against the causes of conflicts", underlined the Archbishop of Trujillo, Msgr. Miguel Cabrejos Vidarte, as President of the Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM), during the International Seminar on Disarmament in Latin America and the Caribbean held on July 26 in Bogota (see Fides, 26/7/2022). The effort to achieve comprehensive disarmament in the continent, an unavoidable prerequisite for the construction of peace in Latin America and the Caribbean, overcomes any ideological or religious difference by convening Catholics, Christian churches and other confessions, in addition to members of civil society and popular organizations. Referring to Colombia, Monsignor Vidarte invited all Catholics and people of good will to contribute with their work to the construction of a more humane society, keeping in mind that the change that the nation is currently experiencing has been decided democratically in the polls, and everyone must adhere, without giving up the possibility of constructive criticism when appropriate. He has also reiterated his willingness as a representative of the Catholic Church in the continent, to join forces and support the best policies to govern the country. "We reaffirm that words and dialogue make us more human and not the use of weapons," he insisted. Disarmament is one of the central proposals made during the Ecclesial Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean held in November 2021, Bishop Vidarte recalled, who continued: accepting and putting this proposal into practice implies reflecting on God's will for the continent; discern God's will for the present moment, based on the thought of Pope Francis and in him his repeated position regarding the need for disarmament, which is precisely one of the inspiring elements of the Alliance for Disarmament. For Msgr. Cabrejos, the horrors of the war in Ukraine confirm the importance that States give to investments in arms with respect to social investment, which is why he recalled that the Pontiffs from John XXIII to Pope Francis have abandoned false concepts according to which there were "just wars", reaffirming that the problems of humanity can always be solved through dialogue, negotiation and the signing of agreements. The development of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, in addition to the growing possibilities of technology, have given war a destructive power that is out of control and affects many innocent lives, so it is not possible to think that war is a solution to this reality, without forgetting that today it is very difficult to sustain those rational criteria matured in other centuries according to which there were just wars. "No more war!" he concluded. (SL) (Agenzia Fides, 27/7/2022)