TELEGRAM FOR RECENT ASSASSINATIONS IN COLOMBIA

VATICAN CITY, MAY 7, 2003 (VIS) - Made public yesterday afternoon was a telegram from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, secretary of State, in the Holy Father's name to Archbishop Alberto Giraldo Jaramillo of Medellin, Colombia for the assassinations of the governor of the Department of Antioquia, the ex-minister of defense and eight other officials who were prisoners of the Farc (Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia):

"The Holy Father received with deep distress the sad news of the abhorrent attack in which Drs. Guillermo Gaviria Correa and Gilberto Echeverri Mejia lost their lives, as well as eight soldiers, and expresses once again his energetic condemnation of acts of terrorism that disturb peaceful co-existence and offend man's most profound sentiments.

"His Holiness, while offering prayers for the eternal repose of the deceased and imploring God to grant consolation and inspire sentiments of harmony in all those who suffer the tragic consequences of violence, asks your Excellency to convey his condolences to the family members of the victims. Encouraging the Colombian people to persevere on the path toward long-awaited peace, he imparts to all the pastors and faithful of your beloved land, especially the archdiocese of Medellin, the comforting apostolic blessing."

TGR;ASSASSINATIONS COLOMBIA;...;GIRALDO; SODANO;VIS;20030507;Word: 210;