Leading Colombian prelate calls for perseverance in peace efforts (Fides)

Over 175,000 civilians have lost their lives in the Colombian conflict, which began in 1964. The National Liberation Army (ELN) continues to wage war despite a 2016 peace agreement between the Colombian government and the main rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC).

“For many years we have been reflecting, praying, working, committing ourselves to the theme of peace and reconciliation, and as the psalmist says, when we say peace, others cry out for war,” said Archbishop Luis José Rueda Aparicio of Bogotá, the president of the bishops’ conference. “It seems we have finished one phase of the war and started another and not just regionally and nationally, but internationally.”