Latin American prelates appeal for peace, call for sober lifestyle

February 26, 2013

In recent days:

• El Salvador’s leading prelate, Archbishop José Luis Escobar Alas, expressed confidence that the nation would not tolerate election violence;
• an official of the Colombian bishops’ conference, Msgr. Héctor Fabio Henao, called upon the nation’s government and leftist rebels to renew efforts to rescue flagging peace talks; and
• a Peruvian Jesuit prelate, Archbishop Pedro Barreto Jimeno of Huancayo, traveled to Canada to urge Catholics to lead lives of austerity and charity: “In the face of the economic crisis, the Catholic Church in her teaching proposes a life of more sobriety and austerity. We must learn to do without the superfluous, and live with more sobriety, sharing with others who we are and what we have. This is what Christ is calling us to do in this season of Lent: Jesus calls us to convert ourselves, to change, and to live out Christian charity which is a witness of the authenticity of our faith.”

 

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Further information:

• Appeal for electoral campaign without violence and with transparency (Fides)
• “We must all support efforts to continue the dialogue for peace” (Fides)
• Colombia: peace process 'sinking' (Vatican Radio)
• Solidarity and sobriety: the solution to the crisis (Fides)