Vatican City, May 29, 2005 / 22:00 pm
The Bishops Conference of Ecuador has released a statement expressing full support for Archbishop Raul Vela of Quito, who is engaged in a conflict with two parish priests who have declared themselves to be “followers of liberation theology.”
The conflict began at the beginning of May at the parish of Santa Maria del Inti, which located in a southern Quito neighborhood known as “Lucha de los Pobres” (“Struggle of the Poor”).
Two priests of Spanish origin at the parish, Father Luis Molina, 58, and Father Miguel Angel Olmedo, 38, both from the Diocese of Jerez in Spain, opened a self-sufficient school, completely independent from the parish and the Archdiocese of Quito.
Together with the “non-denominational” school, the priests began to carry out pastoral work centered exclusively on social justice, ignoring the sacramental life of the parish, including the Mass.