Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
San Salvador (Agenzia Fides) - The auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador, Monsignor Gregorio Rosa Chavez, has announced that the Catholic Church is preparing for a new "Peace Agreement" initiative, similar to the one that 20 years ago ended the civil war, in order to reduce violence and crime in the country.
Mgr. Rosa Chavez said he hopes that the document is submitted before the end of 2011.
The initiative is supported by the Central American University Jose Simeon Canas which is a member of the National Council for Education. The 16th January marks the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the "Peace Agreement" in El Salvador that ended the bloody civil war (1980-1992), which caused about 75,000 deaths.
Mgr. Rosa Chavez said that this initiative was decided at the conclusion of the meeting sponsored by the Church with selected groups in the different sectors of society: parents, youth, NGOs, media, and others. (See Fides 19/09/2011) "It will be like a Bible for Peace", said the auxiliary Bishop of San Salvador in the usual press conference on Sunday.
The proposed agreement is focused on 5 issues: coordination between institutions, adoption of economic policies to create new jobs, programs for the prevention of youth problems through the proper use of children’s leisure time, preaching moral and spiritual principles, auditing criticism from the media concerning their programs in order to prevent the spread of the subculture of violence.
El Salvador is considered one of the countries with the highest levels of violence, with a daily average of 11 murders, most of which are attributed to criminal gangs dedicated to drug trafficking, racketeering and human being trafficking. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 12/12/2011)
