Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Bogotá (Agenzia Fides) - "The Colombian people are eager for peace, but we still cannot find the right path. All the Bishops of Colombia are engaged in the effort to lead our people on the path to true peace, which is the peace that Christ promises us, the peace of the Gospel". This is what Mgr. Mario de Jesus Álvarez Gómez told Agenzia Fides, since February, Bishop of Istmina - Tadó, who has held the position of National Director of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 2010 (see Fides 15/2/2018). "We are engaged in this great effort, which is certainly not easy - the Bishop continues -.
Many priests who worked for this purpose were killed, many communities were displaced and persecuted because of their religious convictions. But let us continue, let us go forward, with the conviction that only with the help of Christ and with the Gospel we can get out of this situation".
Among the geographical areas that still suffer violence and the lack of peace, the Bishop mentions Catatumbo, the Colombian region located in the northeast, on the border with Venezuela, which "is has been a powder keg for some time, because the rebel group of the ELN ( Army of National Liberation) since its origins, in 1964, settled there. It is a rich area, which it shares with Venezuela the wealth of oil, so it was fertile ground to feed a great violence, a real war. Even in other areas of the country, such as the Choco region, in the western part, on the Pacific coast - he continues -, this group of rebels is present, who have joined other forms of violence, which also includes drug trafficking. In the south of the country, the areas traditionally dominated by the FARC (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia) now suffer a combination of struggles that even now, despite the signing of peace, keep a climate of violence, war, impatience alive" .
Despite these pockets of violence, "the Church is present in all places, in a strong, determined, trusting and even martyred way", underlines Mgr. Álvarez Gómez. "This is the Catholic Church, the only one present in all the municipalities, in all these areas. Even in the poorest and most needy places there is a priest, a religious, a lay person, engaged in the work of evangelization, expressing the presence of the Church. We are there to bring the Gospel, witnessing reconciliation, peace and forgiveness. It is a great hope". Even though mistakes have been made in the past, the Bishop recalls, the Catholic Church is the institution that still enjoys the greatest trust of the people, and this leads it to be present in all the realities, especially the poorest and most abandoned, where it is impossible to live with dignity.
"This year - concludes the Bishop - we are celebrating a year dedicated to reconciliation in Colombia, and we are inviting the Colombians to disarm their hearts and enter into an atmosphere of reconciliation and peace, which opens the way to development". (LG/SL) (Agenzia Fides, 26/06/2018)
