Dec 12, 2006 / 22:00 pm
The Episcopal Conference of Colombia encouraged Colombians to take advantage of the celebration of Christmas to understand that peace is a gift of God granted to mankind, and is only possible when built daily with deeds of justice and love.
In a Christmas message, the Colombian bishops indicated that during the last century Colombian history has been unfortunately rooted in violence, injustice, corruption, craving for power, fast money, materialism, and the constant loss of values.
"All these problems clearly explain that violence, in addition to being harmful, does not solve the original problems. People do not gain from it, but instead lose; because only from peace and with peace, the respect for human dignity and their fundamental rights can be guaranteed," they noted.
The bishops also stated, "during Christmas we celebrate the Mystery of the Incarnation because Jesus came to unite what was divided, to destroy sin and hatred, awaking in the humanity the vocation toward unity and fraternity."
"Jesus is our peace, the origin and example of this renewed humanity, full of brotherly love, sincerity and the spirit of peace we all long for," they concluded.