AMERICA/COLOMBIA - "A march is a way to put a stop to violence"

Cali (Agenzia Fides) - A large crowd participated in Cali to march against the new wave of violence, organized by the Catholic Church, to show solidarity with Fabiola Ruiz and her family: the domestic worker was killed on December 31, 2013 in her home, in Upper Jordan, by two assassins.
The Archbishop of Cali, His Exc. Mgr. Dario de Jesus Monsalve, gathered the faithful to march and pray together, with a candle and a rosary in their hand, from the parish of the area to the place where the murder was committed.
The note sent to Fides Agency reports that the march took place on the evening of January 7, recalling the Archbishop of Cali’s commitment for non-violence. Yesterday he told the local press: "Our march is a way to say stop to violence starting from our faith. We want to involve the whole community in order to stop this wave of violence".
With regards to the first march against violence held last November 13, the Archbishop wrote: "Our helplessness and abandonment does not seek the path of 'authorized weapons', and even less of criminal weapons, but rather 'the armor of God' (Eph. 6:10-20 ). They strengthen both citizens and those who have a duty to protect them, so that, together, we can adhere to the truth and the common goal of building coexistence among free and equal people (Article 13 of the Constitution)".
At the end of September (see Fides 30/09/2013) the Archbishop had strongly denounced violence against priests, after the murder of the pastor and vice pastor of San Sebastián in Roldanillo.
In a report published by the local press, it appears that in the first six days of 2014, 25 people have been killed in Cali in isolated incidents, including four minors. Only in 2013 there were more than 1,900 murders, 1,600 of which committed with firearms. Revenge was the leading cause, followed by clashes among gangs. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 09/01/2014)