Deacon Fredy Muñoz and layman Eider Bototo were injured when a group of hooded men fired more than 30 times at the vehicle they were traveling in.
Newsroom (04/07/2023 15:46, Gaudium Press) The increasing violence in Colombia has now impacted two pastoral workers who were returning from a vigil for the San Isidro festivities: a deacon and a layman.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday, July 2, when the deacon of San Lorenzo parish, Freddy Muñoz – who will be ordained a priest next month – and the layman Eider Bototo, returning from a religious service on the festivities of San Isidro, had their vehicle stopped and shot with 36 bullets by several hooded men, leaving them seriously wounded. They were rushed to a hospital.
According to a statement from the Colombian Episcopal Conference, “the wounds suffered by these two members of the Church” are, in reality, a “reflection of the wounds of the entire civil society of Cauca,” a permanent victim “of this armed violence, far from any rational principle and respect for International Humanitarian Law.”
“Every violent act in our territories demands a greater commitment on our part. We cannot continue postponing the goal of a peaceful Colombia”, added the Archbishop of Popayán and vice-president of the Episcopal Conference of Colombia.
The United Nations delegation in Colombia also took a position on the armed attack against the religious: “We condemn these acts of violence and stand in solidarity with the Catholic Church, a fundamental promoter of the construction of peace and reconciliation in the territories. Likewise, we join the call of the communities to stop the wave of violence that affects people in the process of reintegration, ethnic leaders, including indigenous authorities, and representatives of civil society in the municipality of Caldono and throughout the department of Cauca.”
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Compiled by Florence MacDonald
