AMERICA/COLOMBIA - “We are asking for justice and we offer Christian forgiveness.” - Statement from the Apostolic Vicar of Puerto Carreño following the murder of two religious

Puerto Carreño (Agenzia Fides) – “Those of us who perform evangelizational services in this Vicariate feel our hearts broken by this cruel act of murder,” says the statement issued by Redemptorist Missionary Francisco Antonio Ceballos Escobar, Pro-Vicar of Puerto Carreño, who thanked the press, the Church, the national Government, and the various social institutions “for the solidarity they have shown with the Church in Puerto Carreño following the violent murder of two servants of the Colombian Church and members of the Redemptorist Community, Fathers Gabriel Fernando Montoya Tamayo and Jesús Ariel Jiménez Soto on March 16.”
According to the statement, Father Gabriel Fernando had worked seven years in the Vicariate, taking care of administrative affairs and for five years had served as Director of the Pascua Boarding School, “which attends to the educational needs of the area with an integral human-Christian formation.”
Fr. Jesus Ariel, a missionary who had worked in and outside of Colombia, had just arrived about a month beforehand, to take over the role of Director of the School, where the two were killed in their service to the Gospel.
Fr. Francisco Antonio Ceballos said that the motives of the crime are still unclear, but everything seems to be pointing to “a robbery attempt, aimed at the money which they assumed would be located in the administrative offices of the school,” although the facts are yet to be verified by State investigation authorities.
“We offer, along with Christ's sacrifice on the Cross, the pain and loss of these brothers of ours, 41 and 46 years of age. We are asking for justice and we offer Christian forgiveness. We unite ourselves in our commitment to the poor, in accord with the vocation which has been handed down to us by Saint Alphonsus Maria Liguori,” the text said.
The funerals were held on March 19 in Salamina, Caldas, at 10 a.m for Fr. Gabriel Fernando and in Aranzazu, Caldas at 2 p.m. for Fr. Jesús Ariel Jiménez. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 20/3/2009)