Bullet shells next to the car in which 5 indigenous people were killed allegedly by FARC dissidents in Tacueyo, Cauca, Colombia

CHURCH

Colombian Bishops call for “3 minutes for peace.”

All people of good will were invited to prayer in response to violence in the south-west of Colombia.

By Fr. John Waters

The Catholic Bishops of Colombia invited both Catholics and non-Catholics alike to join in an initiative called “3 minutes for peace” on November 4^th.

The general secretary of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Colombia, Monsignor Elkin Álvarez Botero, made the invitation on behalf of the Archbishop of Popayán, Monsignor Luis José Rueda Aparicio.

“We are going to ask the Lord with all devotion, convinced that he listens to us, so that violence, death, hatred, divisions and all kinds of violence may end in Cauca and throughout the country,” wrote Monsignor Botero, who also serves as the auxiliary Bishop of Medellin.

At 2pm, local time, all participants were invited to recite the prayer of St Francis of Assisi. They were to then give a round of applause for 1 minute, listen to the ringing of local church bells and finish by reciting the Angelus prayer.

Cauca, the south-western region of Colombia highlighted by the initiative, has been the site of much violence in recent months, most notably the killing of local social leaders and members of the local indigenous population. Most recently, 5 members of a group of indigenous people were killed on 30^th October. Government forces stated that breakaway members of the militia group Farc, were responsible for the killings.

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