Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Santiago (Agenzia Fides) - The group of young students who have been on a hunger strike for 37 days to show their solidarity with all other students from Chile, have decided to suspend this action due to the present precarious health conditions in which they find themselves. In order to ask for a better education system in the country, 6 Chilean students had in fact taken this action of protest after the failure of several attempts to dialogue with the authorities. The decision of the suspension, due to the delicate state of health they find themselves in now, was communicated to the local press by the 19-year-old student Gloria Negrete, whose conditions are the most critical among the students in the group. Mgr. Juan Ignacio González, Bishop of the Diocese of San Bernardo met and spoke with her for about an hour two days ago, all of this took place at Buin hospital where the girl is hospitalized.
According to a memo from the Chilean Episcopal Conference and sent to Fides, Mgr. Ignacio Gonzalez had met the student through Facebook social network and therefore agreed to meet. "It was a moment of deep prayer and friendly dialogue", Mgr. Gonzalez said shortly after, adding that Gloria "is a person of faith, and we must respect the decisions she has made". According to the news released by the local press it seemed that Gloria’s decision to go on a hunger strike was due to her parents pressure, which was then denied by the Bishop and by the students themselves. Mgr. Gonzalez had also commented that, however, the students’ health should have been safeguarded. This story was followed by the Catholic Church which supports the proposal of dialogue that must lead to a final solution (see Fides 26/7/2011). (CE) (Agenzia Fides 25/08/2011)
