Bishop demands end to Mapuche violence against churches

August 21, 2017

A Chilean bishop called upon radical activists of the indigenous Mapuche people to stop burning down churches, according to a Fides report.

Speaking on August 15 at the Marian shrine of Metrenco, Bishop Francisco Javier Stegmeier Schmidlin of Villarrica told Mapuche pilgrims that “it is necessary to talk with the minority groups, the few still in search of violence, to convince them to stop using those means and work instead to build healthy collaboration and dialogue with the authorities.”

Since early 2016, Mapuche activists have burned down over a dozen Catholic and Protestant churches in the region.

 

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Further information:

• Bishop of Villarrica demands immediate and definitive end to La Araucania violence (Fides)