The Colombian Episcopal Conference (CEC) has condemned the attack on a police station in the town of Guapi, on the country’s Pacific coast on 2 November. Two police officers were killed in the explosion which damaged nearby homes, the house and the episcopal curia of the Apostolic Vicariate of Guapi, and the mayor’s office.
In a statement, the CEC expressed to the entire community of Guapi its “deepest solidarity and support in this time of trial in the face of increasing violence.”
“We have asked the National Secretariat for Social Pastoral Care – Caritas Colombia (SNPS-CC) to immediately activate the Emergency Fund and the close and active company,” the bishops indicated, assuring that the Catholic Church in Colombia will be attentive “to listen to the needs that we can address and resolve with creative courage, supported by prayer and moved by the hope that the force of good can overcome evil.”
According to the Colombian newspaper El Tiempo, in addition to the two wounded officers, the explosion caused the death of three people who were carrying the explosives to the police station, and who would have belonged to the dissident groups of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).
The Colombian bishops expressed their “strong rejection” of “the criminal actions of those who try to generate panic and desolation, affecting the tranquility of the population and destabilizing the social order.”
The CEC stated that “the Church in our country remains committed to seeking paths to reconciliation,” and recalled that “Saint Paul VI used to say that ‘if we want peace we must work for justice.’”
“We call upon the institutions of the Colombian State, especially the National Government, to continue to make a transformative presence in the regions through various actions within their reach, in order to generate comprehensive human development, provide security to the civilian population, and defend the right to peace that we should all enjoy.”
“We assure you of our closeness and prayers, and we entrust you to Our Lady of Hope who encourages us not to falter in the face of adversity,” the bishops concluded.