The Americas

Kidnappers reap ultimate punishment
By Jeremy McDermott, Latin America Correspondent
THE COLOMBIAN Archbishop of Cali has excommunicated a unit of left-wing guerrillas who burst into a church and abducted an entire congregation, even the priest.
Rebels from the 5,000strong National Liberation Army (ELN) ignored a June 30 deadline set by the Church to free 36 hostages they are still holding from the seized 143 taken from La Maria Church in Cali on May 30.
"They have committed a terrible wrong and estranged themselves from the Holy Communion of the Church," said Archbishop Isaias Duarte of Cali. He said the excommunications could be lifted if the rebels release the remaining hostages.
The Pope condemned the mass abduction where 30 armed guerrillas burst into a Sunday morning church service and herded the 143 worshippers and priest into waiting trucks. The 36 that remain in guerrilla hands are believed to be the wealthiest, and ransom demands have been made to secure their release.
Excommunication in a deeply Catholic country like Colombia is not taken lightly, especially by the ELN, whose ideology is a blend of Marxism and Catholicism.
The leader of the ELN until his death last year was a former Spanish priest, Manuel Perez, one of three priests who joined the rebel ranks seeing the armed struggle as the only way to bring justice in Colombia.
The ELN's chief, Nicolas Rodriguez, admitted in June the threat of excommunication deeply worried many of his fighters, most of whom are devout Catholics, and he himself went to the Vatican to apologise for the action and reassure the Church such they would not repeat the operation.
Despite this apology, the ELN have responded to Church demands that they free the hostages by saying they will be released promptly, just as soon as the ransoms have been paid.
Colombians, losing faith in a peace process that seems to bring only more war, welcomed remarks from the Pope that showed he was aware of their suffering, even as they came to terms with a massive car bomb that killed ten and wounded almost 40 in Medellin.
"It's distressing to see the difficulties encountered in the advancement of the auspicious peace process. the only way possible for reconciliation among Colombians," the Pope told the faithful crowded into the courtyard of his summer palace outside Rome.