Bogotá, Colombia, Jul 17, 2008 / 14:38 pm
In an interview with the Colombian magazine Cambio, the new president of the Bishops’ Conference of Colombia, Archbishop Ruben Salazar, said the guerrilla rebels in the country “have lost touch with reality.” The bishop encouraged the rebels to free all of the hostages and to sit down for negotiations.
“The world has changed substantially during recent years and the guerillas have remained stuck in the past. They have lost touch with reality. Violence can never be the path for achieving a profound renewal of society in justice and peace. The guerillas must recognize that the moment has come to free all of the hostages and to sit down at the negotiating table. In this way they can still make a contribution to the future of the country,” the archbishop said.