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To Live Hope: Report from Medellin
by Robert Seguin, C.S.B.

During the seven years that the Basilian Fathers of Colombia have been in charge of Ecce Homo parish in Medellín, we have had to confront different forms of conflict: first gangs and urban guerrillas, then the FARC, a national group of paramilitaries. Our area became known as a war zone.

Now, open fighting has come to an end but a purge has begun. Ten people were killed “selectively” in one month this year. People who had any contact with the militia have been warned and forced to leave the different barrios of the parish. For them, to stay means death. People are relieved that the shooting sprees have come to an end but they live in constant fear of what will take place next. 

The unemployment in our area is estimated officially at 70%; another 10% are sub-employed. The level of poverty leads naturally to involvement in the different armed groups who offer a salary. Drugs and prostitution become ways of surviving.

In the midst of conflict we continue to proclaim the gospel in every situation, calling people to forgiveness and reconciliation. 

We join those who mourn their dead. In our time here, over 350 people have been killed in our parish alone. 

We accompany those who have been victims of violence. A group of psychologists regularly visit the parish for private counseling and to train a group of parishioners to be able to offer help to widows and orphans or mothers who have lost their children because of the violence.

Since coming to Colombia we have been witnesses of countless examples of people and families who have opted for forgiveness, forgoing vengeance.

Still, much of the violence in the war between the guerrilla and the paramilitaries includes personal vendettas.

In our parish there is a large group of people who have chosen to live their life promoting human development and human rights. Their active faith and witness has brought continued life to the parish. 

We try to promote different alternatives to conflict by fostering solidarity among the people. Basic to our evangelization is the establishment of small Christian communities. We have about 20 of these communities which are the backbone of our work here. Our Basilian confreres, the candidates and postulants who have lived with us, and the Marianitas, a group of sisters founded in Ecuador, are the key to the success of these “Comunidades de Base.” Through the communities, we hope to foster leadership and a sense of responsibility. Our many active parish programs which touch all parts of the people’s lives also contribute to this solidarity.

An important element of our pastoral work is the liturgy. Christmas, Holy Week, the celebration of Easter and different feasts throughout the year offer an opportunity to celebrate life and to call people to conversion and to a spirit open to forgiveness and reconciliation and to development and peace. Last year in the midst of continued shooting sprees we had a special celebration of Mother’s Day. Over 250 women came for an evening of diversion. It offered a break from all of the tension and stress in the midst of the war.

In the face of the violence we live in, it is a natural temptation to hate those responsible, and to rejoice in revenge. But the gospel reminds us that Jesus came not “to condemn” but to call people to repentance and to forgiveness. He came to bring to life those living in a culture of death. He teaches us to love our enemies and to do good to those who persecute us. This is the Basic Christian Alternative. It is the alternative of the saving Cross. There is no other.

We are called to live the Gospel day in and day out. Reflecting on our own sins and failures, we are careful not to condemn others but rather to call people back to life as Jesus called Lazarus and continues to call us. We are called to live the solidarity of the Cross and it is precisely in solidarity with those who suffer that the Lord manifests divine grace and Love. The blood of the martyrs of Colombia is a proclamation to all the world of the Love of God in solidarity with all those who are suffering and invites us to be people of hope on the journey of faith that leads to resurrection, and to work for a world of justice and peace where everyone has a place.

I invite you to pray for Colombia. Each Sunday evening we gather with the sisters of the parish to give thanks to God before the Blessed Sacrament and to pray for God’s blessing on our people and to pray for the conversion of those immersed in the forces of a culture of death. Join with us in praying that they might come to know the tremendous love and mercy of God in their lives and discover the miraculous transformation that comes from love and forgiveness.