Colombian Episcopate to Hold a "Week of Peace"

BOGOTA, Colombia, SEPT. 1, 2003 (Zenit.org).- The Colombian Catholic bishops’ conference has launched a campaign for a Week of Peace, to help overcome the country’s division and violence.

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Promoters say that the campaign, launched through the bishops’ National Secretariat for Social Pastoral Care, aims to «open the doors to reconciliation as the only possibility to overcome division, uncertainty, violence and the situation of chaos society is living.»

It is «a proposal of education and mobilization of Colombian society so that Colombian citizens will contribute, in a responsible way, to the building of peace,» the promoters explained.

Under the motto «Reconciliation, Horizon of Peace,» the Sept. 7-14 initiative seeks to trigger action that will involved the various parts of society in the defense and promotion of human social and cultural rights.

Labor unions and educational and cultural centers will participate in the event. Round-table discussions are planned. And pamphlets, posters, radio spots, television advertising and newspaper ads are being used to support the campaign. The initiative is addressed to all the country’s parishes.

Last year, Colombia had 3,000 kidnappings, the highest number in the world; 70% of the abductions are attributed to the rebel Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

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ZENIT Staff

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