Ecuador

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Bishops call for dialogue, offer help amid Ecuador protests

June 24, 2022 Catholic News Agency 0
Demonstrators clash with riot police, nearby El Ejido park, in Quito, on June 24, 2022, in the framework of indigenous-led protests against the government. – Ecuador’s government and Indigenous protesters accused each other of intransigence as thousands gathered for a 12th day of a fuel price revolt that has claimed six lives and injured dozens. After the most violent day of the campaign so far — with police firing tear gas to disperse thousands storming Congress — the government accused protesters of shunning a peaceful outcome. / Martin Bernetti/AFP via Getty Images

Lima, Peru, Jun 24, 2022 / 18:00 pm (CNA).

The bishops of Ecuador have called for dialogue in order to reach an agreement between the government and the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), which is leading nationwide protests that have left six dead.

“On behalf of the Ecuadorian Bishops’ Conference, I wish to reaffirm our heartfelt call for the parties involved, setting aside any extreme position, to sit down to dialogue, to listen to each other, to reflect together and make decisions that benefit the entire country and not just small groups,” said Archbishop Luis Gerardo Cabrera Herrera of Guayaquil, president of the Ecuadorian Bishops’ Conference, in a June 22 video message.

“At the same time, we want to commit our participation to what the parties also see fit. The only thing we really want is for the much longed for peace to become a reality between us, a peace always based on justice, freedom and truth,” he added.

Beginning June 13, indigenous organizations have called for an indefinite national strike to demand the reduction of fuel prices and price caps for farm products. The marches have turned violent and protesters have clashed with the police and closed several roads.

Ecuador has recently faced high levels of inflation, unemployment, and poverty.

The initially peaceful protest resulted in a wave of violence and clashes between civilians and security forces that has so far left six dead, 74 injured, and 87 detained. In addition, the highway blockades have exacerbated the economic crisis in the country.

Meanwhile, the leader of Conaie, Leonidas Iza, opposes participating in the talks that Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso had already agreed to attend, pointing out that certain conditions must be met, such as lifting the state of emergency in force in six provinces of the country.

Iza was briefly arrested June 14. He is barred from leaving the country, and must appear before an attorney general twice weekly.

The Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, reported June 22 that an attack by indigenous people against police facilities in the city of Puyo left six policemen injured, 18 missing, and 18 police vehicles damaged.

Conaie also denounced abusive tactics used in cracking down against the protests by the police and the military.

Archbishop Alfredo José Espinoza Mateus of Quito also spoke out about the national strike, recalling the words of Pope Francis.

“Pope Francis tells us that it’s not easy to build dialogue, especially if you are divided by rancor. Dialogue is the only possible path, we have told the bishops of Ecuador. Dialogue, as the Pope affirms, must be marked by listening and meekness. It must be a path that is built together,” he explained.

The prelate reminded that “hate and rancor through violence build walls, but assuming this attitude of listening, humility, meekness, builds bridges that unite us.”

“I again invite us as archbishop of Quito to take this path of dialogue; that we may know how to listen to each other, because it’s a common goal, the goal is the good of our country. And let’s build those bridges to be able to achieve an Ecuador of peace and a better Ecuador,” he concluded.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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News Briefs

Beatification cause advances for missionary who saved seven children from drowning

March 22, 2021 CNA Daily News 1

Cordoba, Spain, Mar 22, 2021 / 06:01 pm (CNA).- Bishop Demetrio Fernández Gonzalez of Córdoba closed on Saturday the diocesan phase of the beatification process for the missionary Brother Pedro Manuel Salado de Alba, who died in Ecuador in 2012 after saving seven children from drowning in the ocean.

The diocesan phase began in October 2018 and ended March 20 with the certification of the original documentation and the two copies that will be sent to the Congregation for the Causes of Saints.

Salado was a consecrated member of the Home at Nazareth, an institute of consecrated life headquartered in Córdoba. He made his final vows in 1990 and lived in Spain until 1998. He was then assigned to the Quinindé mission in Ecuador, where he directed a home and the Holy Family of Nazareth School.

In a March 20 statement from the Diocese of Córdoba, Bishop Fernández expressed his desire “that this cause be processed quickly.” Now “let’s keep it in our prayers because this cause encourages us to be like Pedro Manuel, to spend our lives for the sake of others.”

Consuelo Csanady, director general of the Home of Nazareth and superior of the women’s branch, recalled that “with Pedro Manuel Salado God wanted to give us an exceptional ambassador.”

Pedro Manuel “tells us today that we must continue giving our lives for others,” she said.

Bishop Eugenio Arellano Fernández, Vicar Apostolic  of Esmeraldas, was also present for the closing and thanked the Córdoba diocese for taking up and advancing the cause of beatification.

Although canon law states that a cause should be opened where the servant of God died, for good reasons the process can be transferred to another diocese, as in this case to Córdoba.

Bishop Arellano said that the life of Salado “is a witness to us”, since he gave his life for the poor children of Esmeraldas “every day.”

At the Mass following the formal closing of the diocesan phase, the Bishop of Córdoba stressed that “he who gives his life for love has won it forever”, and that Salado “has woven the love of Jesus Christ into history.”

Pedro Manuel Salado de Alba was born Jan. 1, 1968 in Chiclana de la Frontera in Cádiz, the third of six children.

Fr. Manuel Jiménez, who heads the Home at Nazareth in Córdoba, said in a video about Salado’s life that “the children loved him very much, they got close to him. Between the children and prayers, he discovered that God was calling him.”

Salado took his final vows in 1990 and lived in the Home at Nazareth in Córdoba until 1998, when he was sent on mission to Ecuador.

“He lived in poverty, which was shown in his ability to adapt to everything. He didn’t have shoes and one day when he was going to play soccer they had to lend him a pair,” Fr. Jiménez recalled.

On Feb. 5, 2012, Salado took a group of children for a walk to Atacames beach.

Around noon the tide rose and seven children were swept away. “Manuel quickly realized that this was a matter of  life and death. He didn’t hesitate to jump into the water and save each one of the children,”  the priest recounted.

 “I’ve got to save my children,” Salado said before charing into the water and managing to pull them out one by one. After bringing back the last two to the beach, he was completely exhausted. One of the sisters from the home said to him, “Manuel, you’ve retrieved them all,” after which he died.

“The children gathered around him and prayed that God would not take him, but Pedro Manuel had already completed his mission on earth,” Fr. Jiménez said.

“Brother Pedro Manuel has been, for all of us who have known him, a gift from God”, he concluded. 

The Home at Nazareth is an institute of consecrated life founded by María del Prado Almagro in 1978. Its mission is to help homeless children and youths in complicated situations.


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