Bogotá, Colombia, Nov 10, 2008 / 17:16 pm
In an interview with the Colombian daily “El Tiempo” on the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood, Archbishop Alberto Giraldo Jaramillo of Medellin said that it is still possible to dialogue with rebels in the country, because each one of them is a unique person that has their "own story and heart.”
The archbishop went on to state that “when one loses the faith, he loses reason. If you don’t see others as made in the image and likeness of God, you begin to use them, if they can get you money, if you can abuse them, and this is what has happened to us in Colombia.”
Archbishop Jaramillo also noted the difference between moral misery and material misery, saying the former is much worse, because the person loses his reason for existing. “If life is not worth living, then what am I living for? That is moral misery,” he said.
Asked about the challenge of trying reach out to the victims of the violence in Colombia, Archbishop Jaramillo said, “I must bring hope, and knowing how to bring it is a challenge for me, an old man who has been a priest for 50 years. For this reason, I think this time has helped me find the meaning of hope,” he said.