Bogotá, Colombia, Apr 4, 2008 / 11:02 am
Cardinal Dario Castrillon has called on the Marxist rebel group FARC in Colombia to free former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and all the other hostages still being held in honor of the Servant of God, John Paul II, to mark the third anniversary of his passing.
“Almost as a homage to the memory of this Pope of peace” who “loved Colombia so much, I would say to the FARC commanders that out of Christian love, out of their convictions of faith, they would think about releasing Ingrid and the other captives in their hands right now,” the cardinal told RCN radio.
He noted that the FARC’s second in command, Raul Reyes, who was killed in a recent military operation, had spoken to him “over the phone not long ago” and asked the cardinal what he wanted of the FARC as a member of the Catholic hierarchy.
“I told him: ‘I would ask that you think about peace, because I am sure that your own family wants it,” the cardinal said.
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