Bogotá, Colombia, Mar 18, 2009 / 11:30 am
The Bishops’ Conference of Colombia issued a statement yesterday expressing its sorrow over the murder of two Redemptorist priests on Monday night in the town of La Primavera.
Authorities believe that Father Gabriel Fernando Montoya Tamayo and Jesus Ariel Jimenez were killed on Monday night by a student of the institute that they worked at. News reports indicate that he may have killed the priests to cover up his theft of a large sum of money.
In their statement the bishops “express their sentiment of solidarity with Father Francisco Antonio Ceballos Escobar, Apostolic Pro-Vicar of Puerto Carreno, with the family members of the victims, the Redemptorist missionaries and the communities the two priests served.”
In condemning these crimes, “which once again have shocked the Catholic Church and the entire country,” the bishops said they “trust that the motives and persons responsible for this violent and sacrilegious act, which is an attack on the hopes for reconciliation and peace that the Church has expressed,” will be uncovered.
The bishops urged all Colombians “to pray for the two murdered priests and ask the Lord, the Prince of Peace, to touch the hearts of those who sow death in Colombia.”
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