Pope Leo condemns violence after bomb attack in Colombia

(OSV News) — Pope Leo XIV called for an end to violence after a bombing on a highway in Colombia that killed 20 people and left dozens wounded.

Addressing Spanish-speaking pilgrims during his weekly general audience April 29, the pope expressed his “sorrow and concern” after learning that an explosive device detonated on the Pan-American highway in the southwestern province of Cauca.

“I express my closeness to the victims and their families and urge everyone to reject all forms of violence and resolutely choose the path of peace,” he said.

According to the BBC, the April 25 bombing was among the deadliest attacks against civilians in recent history and was ordered by rebel leader Iván Jacob Idrobo Arredondo, also known by his alias, “Marlon.”

Colombian Defense Minister Pedro Arnulfo Sanchez said Idrobo is a member of a drug trafficking cartel run by a former member of the guerrilla group FARC known by his alias, Iván Mordisco.

A peace deal ending more than 50 years of civil war between government forces and FARC, the Spanish acronym for the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, was signed in November 2016.

The civil war is responsible for the deaths of more than 220,000 between 1958-2012 and left countless missing or displaced, according to Colombia’s National Center for Historical Memory.

However, some members of FARC, including Mordisco, opposed the peace deal and broke away.

Sanchez said the highway attack was the latest in a series of attacks carried out by the cartel “against the civilian population and an Army military unit in Cali.”

He also offered a reward of 5 billion pesos ($1.37 billion) for information leading to Idrobo’s capture.

Shortly after the pope’s statement, the Colombian bishops’ conference shared his appeal on its website, saying that Pope Leo “joins the many voices within the Catholic Church in Colombia who, in recent days, have expressed their sorrow, solidarity with the victims, and a firm call for an end to all forms of violence.”

“In particular, bishops across the country have emphasized the urgent need to work toward a peace with social justice, based on dialogue, reconciliation, and respect for life,” the bishops said.

In separate statements shared by the conference, Archbishops Luis Fernando Rodríguez Velásquez of Cali and Omar Alberto Sánchez Cubillos of Popayán, expressed sorrow for the attacks in their respective dioceses and appealed for peace.

“How much we grieve for the innocent victims who have lost their lives because of these attacks! How much the atmosphere of fear generated by these violent incursions hurts us,” Archbishop Rodríguez wrote.

“In the name of the Lord, we implore that these senseless actions be stopped,” he added.

In his statement released by the Archdiocese of Popayán, Archbishop Sánchez condemned “every form of violence that threatens life and human dignity” and called for leaders to pursue “paths of reconciliation, respect, and peace.”

“May God touch hearts hardened by violence and grant us the grace to build a reconciled land, where life is respected and peace is possible,” he wrote.

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