Anti-Church violence continues. (Colombia).

Bogota--In the wake of the March 16, 2002, murder of Archbishop Isaias Duarte Cancino of Cali (see C.I., May 2002, p.25), violence and threats of violence against clergy and religious continue.

On April 6, Fr. Juan Ramon Nunez was killed while celebrating Mass in the village of La Argentina. His death takes to 27 the total of Catholic priests and religious slain in Colombia since 1998. Ten other bishops and priests have received recent death threats, which are being investigated by a committee of security for ecclesiastical authorities, set up after the archbishop's murder. Father Gersain Paz, director of communications of the archdiocese of Cali and a close collaborator of Archbishop Duarte, is following advice to leave the country because of the death threats. He hopes his absence will be temporary.

Also on April 6, two parish priests engaged on a humanitarian mission in the department of Arauca, were kidnapped by members of the guerrilla group NLA (National Liberation Army). Fr. Carlos Yepes, kidnapped in mid-April by the FARC guerrilla group in the course of a peace march, was released on April 22. Three bishops had previously been set free, but the guerrillas continue to hold two politicians as hostages. Also in April, seven Catholic missionaries in the Santa Rosa del Sur district were kidnapped by the right-wing paramilitary AUC group. The group, including Irish Franciscan Fr. Brendan Forde, was eventually released after convincing the kidnappers that their work was purely pastoral.

Juan Jairo Maturana has been arrested for the murder of Archbishop Duarte. Maturana is said to be the head of a criminal band operating in the area where the murder took place (Zenit, Mar-Apr, 2002).