Pope Leo XIV on Wednesday condemned a surge of violence in Colombia, following a weekend of deadly attacks in the southwest part of the country.
Since Friday, rebel groups have carried out more than two dozen attacks on civilians and military bases, just ahead of the presidential elections scheduled for May 31.
The deadliest incident took place when a bomb exploded on the Pan-American Highway in the department of Cauca as an intercity bus was passing by. The attack occurred in one of the regions that has suffered most from violence in recent weeks, amid an escalation of armed assaults.
It is the bloodiest massacre of civilians recorded in the country in more than a decade, when the Colombian state and specialized nongovernmental organizations began officially identifying episodes involving the simultaneous deaths of three or more people as massacres.
Before thousands of people gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the pontiff expressed his condemnation of the renewed wave of violence affecting the South American country.
“With sorrow and concern, I have learned of the tragic situation of violence afflicting the southwestern region of Colombia, which has caused grave loss of human life,” he said, addressing Spanish-speakers.
“I express my closeness in prayer to the victims and their families, and I urge everyone to reject every form of violence and to choose decisively the path of peace,” the pope said in Spanish.
Colombia is once again experiencing some of the darkest episodes of its armed conflict. Since January, 48 massacres have been recorded. At least 229 people have been killed in the incidents, making it the most violent start to a year since the signing of the 2016 Peace Agreement.
The wave of violence extends from north to south across the country, in a context marked by an increasingly tense electoral climate.
This article was originally published by ACI Prensa, EWTN News’ Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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