BOGOTA, Colombia – Suspected rebels killed two Catholic priests Monday, ambushing their car with gunfire and explosives as they drove down a country road in northeast Colombia, police said.
Two laborers in the vehicle were also killed in the attack near Teorama, 260 miles northeast of Bogota, Norte de Santander state police chief Gen. Hipolito Herrera told RCN television.
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The Catholic Church has played an active role in mediation efforts during Colombia's war, which pits the FARC and another leftist rebel group against right-wing paramilitary factions and government forces.
But the clergy's peace efforts have come at a heavy price. An archbishop, a bishop, more than 50 priests and three nuns have been killed by suspected rebels or paramilitary fighters over the past 20 years, according government figures.
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Columbia is a scary place to live in.
UPDATE 08/19/2005
A third Catholic priest was killed in Columbia on Thursday. Click here for details.
UPDATE 08/22/2005
This is very interesting:
BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) -- The smaller of Colombia's two leftist rebel groups acknowledged Saturday that its fighters killed two Catholic priests earlier this week but said it was a mistake and vowed to punish the perpetrators.
"We are aware of the irreparable damage that this act has caused," the National Liberation Army, known by its Spanish acronym ELN, said in a statement sent to several local media. "We regret it deeply and ask for forgiveness."
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But church leader Monsignor Hector Fabio Henao said the rebel apology was insufficient.
"I think the ELN should pay for their mistake not just by asking for forgiveness, but by opening a peace dialogue," Henao, who often mediated in peace efforts during Colombia's 41-year-old civil war, told The Associated Press
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Well, at least theyacknowledgedd their mistake. Yep, it's time to open a peacedialoguee. But, I don't see that happening very soon.
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