Pope denounces Colombia killings, speaks on true freedom

(July 2, 2007) Pope Benedict XVI condemned the "barbarous assassination" of 11 lawmakers by a rebel group in Colombia. The Pope denounced the act on Sunday after praying the midday ‘Angelus’ with a large crowd gathered in St. Peter's Square. The Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known by its Spanish acronym FARC, on Thursday claimed that the deputies of Valle del Cauca had been killed in a crossfire with "an unidentified armed group." The lawmakers had been kidnapped and held by the rebel group since 2002. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour, had earlier condemned the killing. "As I pray for them, I unite myself with the deep pain of their families and of the beloved Colombian nation which is once again shaken by fratricidal hate,” Pope Benedict said. He said he renewed his earnest plea that all kidnapping cease immediately and that those who are victims of such inadmissible forms of violence be returned to the affection of their loved ones.
Prior to reciting the Angelus, Pope Benedict commented on Sunday’s Gospel reading on freedom and following Christ. Authentic freedom, he said finds its true meaning in love and serving others. "It is in his obedience to the Father that Jesus realizes his freedom as a conscious choice motivated by love," the Pope explained. "He did not live his freedom, however, as license or dominion. He lived it as service.” Christian freedom, the Holy Father added, "is following Christ in the gift of self, right up to the sacrifice on the cross."