Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Tegucigalpa (Agenzia Fides) - Strengthening the culture of life and peace in Central America: is what the Bishops of Central American Bishops' Secretariat (SEDAC) ask at the end of the assembly held in Tegucigalpa. The Assembly gathered more than 50 Bishops for a week from Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. Many topics on the agenda: poverty, insecurity, organized crime, institutionalized corruption and drug trafficking. As reported in a note sent to Agenzia Fides by Victor Hugo Alvarez, Director of the Hondurian Catholic weekly "Fides", the central theme was "peace in the region": although, in Central America today, there is no more bloody conflicts which in recent decades hit Guatemala, Nicaragua and El Salvador, new forms of violence have emerged: the rate of violence, armed gangs and the growing corruption in law enforcement has increased substantially. On top of this one needs to add the lack of opportunities for young people, who try to migrate to North America, where many migrants from Central America are killed or disappear.
The final message of the Assembly points out that "in the midst of people who love truth and honesty, and who has always fought for equality and freedom, there are still adverse situations such as social exclusion of the majority of the poor, corruption in the society and the state, the violation of human rights". Faced with these challenges - said the president of the SEDAC, Mgr. Leopoldo Brenes, Archbishop of Managua, "we must become Pastors who walk in front of our people, pointing out the right direction, witnessing love and the Kingdom to build with peace and freedom". The Bishops’ text concludes by inviting everyone to commit themselves "to building the Kingdom of God in Central America, a Kingdom of justice and peace". (CE) (Agenzia Fides 26/11/2011)
