_WORLD WATCH______________________________
______________________CHILE____________________
Bishops seek clemency
Effort to promote national unity
Chile’s Catholic bishops may ask the government to extend clemency to former military officers accused of human-rights abuses, in order to bring about peace and reconciliation.
Auxiliary Bishop Sergio Valech of Santiago said that any such request would be made in the spirit of “understanding and mercy.” He explained:
We can see how justice works within a family. A father punishes his child, but then forgives him. I don’t believe anyone would praise a father who threw his child out of the house. The Church is always to serve humanity, and we are continually looking for opportunities and ways to do that.
The statement came as former military soldiers and secret police came forward to confess offenses committed during the country’s former military dictatorship. Church leaders are expecting a flood of new litigation on behalf of victims of human-rights abuses, which could further split the South American country and cause upheaval and unrest.
Bishop Valech made his statement during a Mass to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the foundation of Chile’s police force, and on the same day military representatives attended a special Mass in Rome with Pope John Paul II to celebrate the Jubilee day for military and police officers.
Cardinal Dario Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for the Clergy, praised the Chilean bishops for their efforts to promote reconciliation. In an interview published by La Tercera newspaper, the Colombian cardinal, who was visiting Chile as the Pope’s envoy to a Eucharistic Congress there, said that the bishops have played a key role in reducing tensions between followers and critics of former dictator General Augusto Pinochet.
“Chilean bishops have set an example of courage by recognizing the sins and shortcomings of the children of the Church,” the cardinal said, making reference to a Prayer for Forgiveness service held a few days earlier in the Santiago cathedral. “The bishops showed a transparency that would be hard to find in any other institution,” he added. The cardinal also said that thanks to the intense pastoral work of the Chilean bishops, “I see a totally different country now.” He concluded: “Today, Chile is clearly a country on its way to a definitive reconciliation.”
Back to Catholic World Report January 2001 Table of Contents