.- The President of the Bishops’ Conference of Peru, Bishop Hugo Garaycoa said this week the bishops in the northern provinces of Ayabaca, Huancabamba, San Ignacio and Jaen have not encouraged the violent protests between police and citizens which have left one dead and dozens injured. According to a statement signed by Bishop Garaycoa, “the presence of the Bishops in that place and in the midst of this difficult situation does not reflect any kind of political interests but rather an interest in encouraging peace and dialogue, in order to attain, with clarity, paths towards a solution in a context in which unfortunately some parties have entrenched positions and are unwilling to reach a necessary and urgent consensus.”
“Both Bishop Daniel Turley of Chulucanas and Msgr. Francisco Muguiro, Apostolic Vicar of Jaen, are aware that their mission as shepherds of the Church in this region is to promote respect for life and social harmony. In no way have they contributed to the fostering of the conflict or the violence. On the contrary, from the beginning they have said that the solution to this problem should be peaceful and should be attained through sincere dialogue,” Bishop Garaycoa said.
“In the name of the Bishops of this region and in my own, we reject all the violence that has unfortunately claimed the life of one person here. We also reject the attacks in San Ignacio against the Vice Minister of Energy and Mining, but it should be clarified that this violent act was carried out by an intransigent party that has turned its back on dialogue,” he stated.
“The Church in this region of Peru is concerned about adequate attention for those wounded and about those who have been detained,” said Bishop Garaycoa. “We must be hopeful in the midst of this difficult situation in order to attain justice and peace, and therefore we should have confidence in dialogue and we should seek above all a peaceful and efficacious solution” to this crisis.
