AMERICA/COLOMBIA - Appeal after the murder of two people in a Church: "They want to kill hope"

Cali (Agenzia Fides) - A heartfelt appeal to the State and to armed groups regarding the violence and desecration of the church of St. Cecilia, in Cali, where two people were killed, was launched by the Archbishop of Cali, His Exc. Mgr. Darío de Jesús Monsalve Mejía. "We call on the State and groups of armed violence, to react in an immediate and concrete manner to the events which occured on Friday evening, January 24", said the statement sent to Fides, entitled "They want to kill hope". The Archbishop condemns the desecration of the parish church, where criminals killed a man who had fled to avoid being robbed and a woman, reached by bullets while she was praying, who died the next day.
"The doors of a temple, consecrated and dedicated to the encounter with God and with our brothers and sisters in faith, cannot be subject to acts of violence of any kind", writes the Archbishop. The Archbishop therefore calls on the Colombian government to "immediately begin the disarmament of citizens in order to restore, morally and politically, security", while the Catholic community, along with its Archbishop, prayed and expressed their commitment to peace and rejection of violence. (CE) (Agenzia Fides 27/01/2014)