Bishops of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador to hold “emergency meeting”

Caracas, Venezuela, Mar 5, 2008 / 10:00 am

The newspaper El Diario Catolico of Venezuela is reporting that representatives of the bishops’ conferences of Venezuela, Colombia and Ecuador will hold an emergency meeting to discuss the crisis facing the three countries.

The paper quotes Archbishop Roberto Luckert, vice president of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference, who said the meeting would take place in Bogota.

He said the bishops would issue a statement reiterating that “everyone loses in war; only with peace does everyone win.”

The archbishop said Venezuela is not a hostile country.  “We are sister nations and war does not characterize us,” he insisted, reiterating his call for calm and for mediation and dialogue.

At the meeting the bishops intend to forge a joint position in response to the crisis between “sister countries that have not had this kind of confrontation.  We have never had problems with our neighbors.”