Colombia: Archbishop leads prayer march in protest against wave of killings

A large demonstration, organised by the Catholic Church, was held in the City of Cali in Colombia on Tuesday evening, to show solidarity with Fabiola Ruiz and her family: a domestic worker who was killed on 31 December, 2013 in her home, in Upper Jordan, by two assassins.

The Archbishop of Cali, Mgr Dario de Jesus Monsalve, gathered the faithful to march and pray together, carrying candles and rosaries, from the parish of the area to the place where the murder was committed. The Archbishop of Cali’ 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".

The first march against violence held on 13 November, the Archbishop wrote: "Our helplessness and abandonment does not seek the path of 'authorized weapons', and even less of criminal weapons, but rather 'the armour of God' . 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 ".

At the end of September the Archbishop 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.

Source: Fides