Colombian bishops pray for victims of two new massacres

September 24, 2020 CNA Daily News News Briefs 0 Print

Bogotá, Colombia, Sep 24, 2020 / 03:56 pm (CNA).- The Colombian Bishops’ Conference this week offered prayers and voiced “deep sorrow” over two new massacres in the country in recent days.

“We the Catholic bishops,” they said in a Sept. 21 statement, “with deep sorrow for the death of these brothers, pray for their eternal rest and express our solidarity with their loved ones, the municipal communities to which they belonged, the archdiocese of Popayán and the diocese of Tumaco. We also ask the Lord for the speedy recovery of the wounded.”

They called for “a definitive end to this machinery of death.”

Six young people were killed in a rural area of the municipality of Buenos Aires, and four people were killed in the municipalities of Mosquera and El Charco in attacks that also led to injuries and property damage.

More than 200 people in Colombia have been killed in some 60 mass killings this year. The killings are often methods of intimidation or retaliation, with criminal groups fighting over drug routes and illegal armed groups still active two years after the signing of a historic peace deal between the government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, which had previously been engaged in a 50-year civil war.

In their Sept. 21 message, the bishops lamented “the extensive list of murders and attacks that in various settings have taken place in the country in recent months.”

“The attacks against human life and dignity are more and more atrocious and bring increasingly serious humanitarian consequences for the entire nation,” they said.

They reiterated that “human life is sacred and attacking it is an extremely serious crime against individuals and communities.”

Stressing that peace can only be achieved if life is respected, the bishops called for “a clear and courageous commitment to defending life” by all segments of society. They encouraged government authorities to enhance security measures and carry out investigations into the attacks.

“We ask Catholic communities to persevere in prayer for peace, as well as to continue promoting actions that lead to reconciliation and the defense of life as a primary and fundamental right of all people,” they added.

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Tabernacle stolen from Canadian Catholic cathedral 

September 8, 2020 CNA Daily News 0

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Sep 8, 2020 / 03:38 pm (CNA).-  

The Bishop of St. Catharines, Ontario is pleading for thieves to return the consecrated Host after the tabernacle was stolen from the St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral on Tuesday.

Bishop Gerard Bergie of St. Catharines pleaded for the two people who took the tabernacle to return it, along with its contents, in an interview Tuesday afternoon with Canadian station NewsTalk 610 CKTB.

“The tabernacle can be replaced. It’s the contents (…) that is what is so precious to us. That’s what’s irreplaceable,” said Bergie, adding that he hopes that no harm is done to the Blessed Sacrament.

He hopes that the person or persons who took the tabernacle “realize it’s not of any monetary value, and be able to return it to us.”

“No questions asked, if they return it,” he said.

The tabernacle is made of steel, but has two bronze-colored doors, said the bishop. Bergie suspected that perhaps the thieves thought the tabernacle was made of gold, or perhaps had a more nefarious intent with stealing the hosts.

“Who knows what goes through the minds of these people,” he said.

Video footage captured two people, believed to be a man and a woman, breaking into the cathedral at approximately 4:30 a.m. Sept. 8. As it was dark, the footage is “kind of grainy” and it has been difficult to determine a clear image of the suspects, he said.

Many people have taken to loitering near the cathedral in recent months, Bergie explained.

“Even yesterday, the man that’s our caretaker said he noticed two fellas that were staying around all day, outside sleeping and eating,” he said. “I don’t know if they’re involved, it’s hard to tell,” said Bergie. 

Fr. Donald Lizzotti, rector of the cathedral, told CNA that he believed the thieves had previously cased the cathedral to determine how to steal the tabernacle.

“And they came back later and actually pried the cover, which is over the old metal tabernacle,” he said. “They pried that off and put it on the floor. They took brass doors off of that,” and then finally took the entire tabernacle off of the altar.

He told CNA that the police were unable to find fingerprints and they believe the thieves had wiped the scene clean.

Lizzotti said that the diocese had contacted scrap yards in the area and informed them about the theft, and that they know what to look for.

St. Catherine of Alexandria Cathedral was hit by numerous instances of theft and vandalism during its renovations in 2019, including the theft of bronze and copper lampposts almost exactly one year ago.

Lizzotti told CNA that he does not think the theft of the tabernacle is related to the Sept. 10, 2019 theft, as the perpetrator was arrested after attempting to sell the metal to a scrapyard. That theft was what prompted the cathedral to install numerous security cameras inside and outside the building. 

Extra steps have now been taken to ensure there are no more break-ins.

“We’ve now secured the one doorway that they got into,” said Lizzotti. “We’ve actually made it completely secure by putting crossbars across the two doors. So they can’t pry the doors unless they rip the wood completely out.”

 


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