Cardinal Parolin, in Colombia, welcomes peace accord

September 27, 2016

As the Colombian government and rebels and representatives of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia-People's Army signed an accord to end their 52-year conflict, the Vatican’s Secretary of State welcomed the prospects of peace during a Liturgy of the Word in the Church of St. Peter Claver in Cartagena.

Preaching to an assembly that included the nation’s president, Cardinal Pietro Parolin said that the Holy See has followed peace talks with “great attention” without being involved in the concrete details that are properly a concern of the nation’s citizens.

The prelate invoked the example of St. Peter Claver, who ministered to hundreds of thousands of slaves, and said that “Jesus expects us to free ourselves from the chains of slavery.”

“He is anxious to embrace, to heal our wounds, by wiping away our tears, for us to eat and to drink water and the bread of life, by looking at us with love in the depths of the soul,” Cardinal Parolin said.

 

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Further information:

• Omelia del Cardinale Segretario di Stato nel corso della Liturgia della Parola in occasione della firma dell’“Accordo Finale” tra il Governo della Colombia e le FARC-EP (Cartagena delle Indie, 26 settembre 2016)
• A Prayer for Colombia, Hopes for an Enduring Peace (TeleSUR)