In a statement released July 25 by the CEC, Henao explained that among the functions of the Church will be to accompany and help “establish bridges between the parties involved in the conflict.”
“The Church is part of the monitoring. The Church, in her dioceses, does not evaluate events, does not make judgments. What the Church does with its pastoral mission is to establish a link with the communities so that they can express themselves. … There will be priests who will provide this service of listening, encouraging, accompanying, avoiding, preventing further violence, and preventing the cease-fire from breaking down,” he said.
After noting that the Church attends the talks to accompany them and not as a negotiating party, he stressed that this cease-fire begins with the very clear perspective of “avoiding aggressive actions” between the ELN and the country’s military forces. “It is not the whole package that we would like, which is why it has been said that this cease-fire will be progressive,” Henao said.
The monsignor explained in this sense that the objective is that later on the cease-fire can also “respond to other outcries,” emergencies, and events that affect the communities. They are undoubtedly “painful and serious, but it starts with an important step to protect human lives.”
The Church and other conflicts
The conflict with the ELN is not the only one that exists in Colombia. In the port of Buenaventura, the Catholic Church also accompanies the negotiation processes between the government and Los Chotas and Los Espartanos gangs.