The bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia (CEC) began their 119th Plenary Assembly with a call to be carriers of hope, forgiveness and peace, given the current situation of the country, which faces various challenges to which they want to face from the Catholic faith.
“Our communities run the risk of falling into hopelessness because they do not find a clear horizon of solution to the structural problems of the country”, so “we want to give a word of hope,” he said in his Inaugural Paper The president of the CEC, Mons. Francisco Javier Múnera.
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The Archbishop of Cartagena expressed his deep concern “for the permanent and growing violence that threatens life and human rights and full of pessimism to populations; a violence funded by the illegality of drug trafficking, microtrafficking, illegal mining and other illicit sources.”
Given this scenario, he continued, “our communities run the risk of falling into hopelessness because they do not find a clear horizon of solution to the structural problems of the country and overbounds a rarely environment that opaque, disguises and hides the truth.”
To this, the Colombian prelate lamented, “the lack of articulation of consistent political leadership with the search for the common good at all levels of representativeness and the absence of a unified project of the country that encourages people to the sense of belonging, to the commitment in the defense of institutionality and democracy, and love for the homeland.”
“Recognizing efforts in some territories of the country in the field of peace and security policy, great difficulties are still found at the national level, which has caused the crisis of the dialogue tables with several armed actors, many of which were being accompanied by the Catholic Church,” he said.
Given this panorama, he said, “The Episcopal Conference has been committed to the definition of ethical principles such as the contribution for the construction of peace, inspired by the Word of God and the social doctrine of the Church, so that they serve as a framework for the accompaniments of initiatives in the search for forgiveness, reconciliation and peace in Colombia.”
The president of the CEC highlighted the role of “The nascent Episcopal Peace Commission“, Created in April of this year,” made up of bishops representing the seven regions, who know firsthand the challenges and tasks of the construction of the culture of peace in the territories. “
Mons. Munera also stressed that on June 16 and hosting an invitation from the Catholic Church, the president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, and other state authorities signed a document in which they promised to reject all kinds of violence, as a way to resolve the political and social conflicts of the country.
The meeting was held after the march of silence, convened in more than 25 cities and that, in the case of Bogotá, brought together some 70,000 people. The objective was to request the end of the violence that is hitting several areas of Colombia and that has had among its last victims the senator and presidential candidate of the Democratic Center, Miguel Uribe Turbay, who remains hospitalized with a reserved prognosis.
In addition, in recent weeks there were various clashes between President Gustavo Petro and the Senate, after this did not approve the call to a popular consultation on the labor reform requested by the Government. In response, the president signed a decree to make the referendum in August, which increased tensions with other authorities. However, and after several comings and turns, Petro himself ended up repealing on June 24.
In his message, the president of the CEC also reiterated the commitment of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia with the attention and prevention of abuse from the system for the culture of care.
To conclude, the Archbishop of Cartagena stressed that the plenary assembly “will culminate with the spiritual retirement that we will carry out in the convent of the Desert of Our Lady of La Candelaria in Ráquira, welcomed by the Agustinos Recoletos Fathers, and with the Jubilee of the Bishops in the Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Chiquinquirá”, the employer of Colombia.
As reported by the CEC, 76 bishops and 5 diocesan administrators participate in this plenary assembly, who will specially deepen the Ministry of Catechist in the Catholic Church in Colombia; and on the role of the bishop.
To reflect on this last issue, they will be attended by Mons. Luis Fernando Ramos Pérez, Archbishop of Puerto Montt (Chile).
Walter Sánchez Silva
I am husband since 2008. With my wife we have three children here and one who went to heaven in 2023, before birth. Since I joined ACI Press in 2005, I have had the opportunity to cover various events of the Catholic Church. Among them, the World Youth Days in Colonia, Madrid and Rio de Janeiro and the apostolic trips of Pope Benedict XVI to Mexico and Pope Francis to South Korea. I have been sent to the Vatican to cover the family’s synods, in 2015; of the Amazon, in 2019 and that of Sinodality, in 2023. I follow the situation of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which suffers the persecution of the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, as well as the ecclesial news in the region.