.- The National Conference of Catholic Bishops has condemned the murder of their National Advisor for Youth Ministry, Father Gisley Azevedo Gomex, who died June 15. The bishops lamented that he was “a victim of the violence he desired to combat.”
In a brief statement, the bishops expressed their consternation over the incident and their hope that an investigation would bring those responsible to justice.
The Fides news agency reported that bishops are urging that “society mobilize to end the violence that so prematurely ends lives.” The 31 year-old priest, they said, became “a victim of the violence he desired to combat.”
The bishops’ youth ministry office remembered Father Gisley for his devotion to young people and for his “brave words in defense of the life, and above all, for his commitment to justice and peace.”
The priest was found dead on June 16 outside the city of Brasilia. He was a member of the Congregation of the Holy Stigmata of the Our Lord Jesus Christ and was ordained in May of 2005.
