AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Visit of the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights, while negotiations between the government and demonstrators are blocked

Monday, 7 June 2021

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Cali (Agenzia Fides) - "The global pandemic, which has made us all children of the same need, and the national strike that, by affecting mobility and distribution, has made everyone feel scarcity, hunger and absolute need, which means vital sustenance for everyone…": with these words, the Archbishop of Cali, Mgr. Darío de Jesús Monsalve Mejía, wanted to propose a strong reflection on the day when the Church celebrates the solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord. "It is the feast of Corpus Domini - he underlined-. Without the great processions of the past, still limited by the pandemic and the national strike, we celebrate it in our churches, perhaps in a square. But, above all, as a solemnity which, beyond the popular name of 'Corpus', places us before the sacrifice of Christ, 'Body given for all, blood shed for many and for all'. Body and Blood, separated, means victim, wounded or killed life, tortured, massacred lives".
Then the Archbishop continued: "This year the Word focuses on the 'Blood of Christ' and the blood of the paschal lamb, in memory of the liberation of the people from 'oppression of the pharaohs in Egypt ... In the last Passover of Jesus, which became the first mass of Christianity, there is no lamb to slaughter and eat, because Jesus himself is the Sacrificed Lamb: he becomes bread to be eaten by all , becomes wine, so that 'everyone drinks'."
The Archbishop then linked the celebration with the lives of Colombians: "the evil and perverse violence, with which some have infiltrated the peaceful protest, and have made armed citizens clash with unarmed citizens, makes us see human blood flow not in the veins, but in the streets and in the territories".
This is why in his reflection he exhorted everyone to "drink from the cup of Christ's blood, which means purifying the soul, receiving forgiveness from God and swearing not to kill". He concluded by asking to decree a total stop to violence and to welcome the grace of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.
Colombia continues to experience the tension of the "paro", the general strike to protest against the government. Negotiations between the Colombian government and the National Unemployment Committee were blocked yesterday, in Bogota, after more than a month of protests in which more than 40 people died (see Fides, 24/5/2021) The international press reports that a delegation from the Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR) also arrived yesterday, Sunday, June 6, in the country to assess the current situation, shaken by social protests since April 28. From June 8 to 10, the Commission will make its official visit to Colombia to assess the human rights situation in the country. (CE) (Agenzia Fides, 7/6/2021)


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