Bishops in Argentina issue urgent call for peace amidst farming crisis

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Jun 17, 2008 / 14:28 pm

Several bishops in Argentina have joined together in calling for peace and calm in response to the crisis gripping the agricultural industry in the region.

 

“In the difficult times we are experiencing, the bishops of the Province of Entre Rios, as pastors, brothers and citizens, call on Christians and all those who profess faith in God, in the diverse religious confessions, to pray with greater insistence and trust in the Lord” for a resolution to the crisis.

 

“We emphatically call on everyone, authorities, leaders of organizations and the people, to find the path to open, loyal and sincere dialogue, and to be calm in order to overcome the present difficulties,” the bishops said.

 

At the same time, Archbishop Jose Maria Arancibia of Mendoza called on the Catholics of his archdiocese to “renewed prayer for the country during these difficult moments.”

 

He stressed that the rule of law consecrated in the country’s Constitution is “the civilized path towards finding solutions to the prolonged conflict that is affecting us all, especially the poor and those excluded.  He prayed to “Jesus Christ and his Mother, the Virgin Mary, for our beloved homeland.”

 

The bishops’ call for peace comes as strikes have crippled Argentina’s agricultural industry for the forth time in three months as farmers protest taxes being imposed by the government.