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By Priscilla Greear, Staff Writer
ATLANTA—At a Mass celebrating Colombian Independence Day,
Father Hernan Quevedo challenged his countrymen here to break through their
divisions to live in solidarity with each other and support a new liberation of
Colombia facing a mounting political crisis.
That solidarity, he said, may replace weeds of distrust and
rivalry in Colombians with seeds of hope and determination and would establish
a more peaceful Colombian society. He challenged those present to live in
solidarity with 33 million other Colombians who, “in their suffering,
anguish and pain, still live with hope for a better world.”
The Mass, celebrated in Spanish and sponsored by Colombian clergy,
was held July 20 at the Cathedral of Christ the King to commemorate the 190th
anniversary of Colombia’s independence from Spain. Wearing ribbons
resembling the Colombian flag, some 1,200 Colombians and other Hispanics from
across the archdiocese packed into the church for the mid-summer celebration.
With Archbishop John F. Donoghue presiding, the Mass was
celebrated by Father Fabio Sotelo-Peña, parochial vicar at the
cathedral, and concelebrated by 11 other Colombian priests. Father Quevedo was
homilist.
Cesar Felipe Gonzalez Hernandez, the Colombian consul in Atlanta,
and his wife, Cipriana Rincon, brought to the altar an image of the Virgin of
Chiquinquirá, patroness of Colombia, whom the Mass honored. The lively
choir from St. Joseph’s Church, Marietta, stirred hearts as it led the
congregation with guitar and tambourine accompaniment in “Dichoso el
Pueblo” and the Colombian national anthem. Children representing different
regions of Colombia brought gifts to the altar.
Father Quevedo spoke of the continual storms that have led to the
current political crisis as his homeland continues to seek peace. In its worst
economic crisis in decades and with powerful drug cartels, the country faces an
increasingly powerful armed guerrilla insurgency of 20,000 that has been in
open rebellion against the state for almost 40 years. It’s composed of
criminal organizations engaged in kidnapping, drug trafficking and other acts
of violence. Colombia has the highest rate of kidnapping in the world.
“... Perhaps because of that reality,” Father Quevedo
said, “we here, now, in this historical moment of our lives and reality as
Colombians, are called to change that partisan plan for insolidarity,
indifference before pain and anguish, that many of our Colombian brothers and
sisters not only confront in their own reality but here among us.”
He said divisions and prejudices that have damaged Colombians for
generations include judging others by who their family is, where they are from
and where they studied. But the Gospel mandate, he said, is for them to work
together to find solutions.
“The peace that the Gospel calls us to live is the peace that
should bring forth the realization of each one as individuals but at the same
time as a people, as a nation that’s falling apart, disintegrating, in the
middle of a fraternal war ... to ask God to give us the grace, that strength of
heart and spirit to open us to his work, to mold our hearts and our beings not
to personal and egotistical interests; just the opposite, he opens us to
brotherhood, solidarity, dialogue with others, to not see each other as
enemies,” he said.
Seeing one another as enemies has prevented the nation from
progressing for decades, the priest said.
He said their pride in their identity can serve to unify them and
that they must not only project Colombia’s troubled times but also what
the faithful are doing to transform the society.
“We remember today the great, the good, the gratifying of our
land, that while with its difficulties and setbacks, still remind us ... not to
lose our national identity, not to be ashamed of ourselves, of our religious
traditions that are so important and fundamental in these times of crisis and
disorder, of our leaders, that while they haven’t been the best they are
seeking other options, other opportunities...”
This solidarity will support true independence for Colombia, which
is moral and spiritual, he said.
“May God lift us from this social, institutional and moral
chaos in which we are falling, that our life and our actions are directed in
the attainment of well-being, peace and harmony between men, between
nations—that instead of criticizing and condemning without compassion,
will enable ourselves to act and look for viable paths that carry us to
gathering and harmony between our Colombian people, that we are able to begin
to see in the middle of darkness, the clarity so desired that we have
sought.”
In his remarks, Archbishop Donoghue praised the steadfast faith of
the Colombian people throughout the Catholic nation’s tumultuous past.
“For amidst all the civil turmoil and uncertainty which
continues to vex Colombia, in its own territory, and here in the hearts of
those who have come to find a more bearable existence in the United States, the
faith of the Colombian people, to their God, to His Son Jesus Christ, and to
His Holy Catholic Church goes uncontested and perhaps unequaled among the
nations which have risen up out of the old Spanish empire,” Archbishop
Donoghue said.
He asked God to bless Colombians “both for the travails and
sorrows of their struggles for a just and lasting freedom, and also, and above
all, for the splendors they have worked in the beautiful arena of God’s
labor, the labor of charity, the labor of learning to love one’s friends
and one’s enemies, and the labor of insuring that all have the help they
need, in the great effort to survive and to rise above the many trials and
challenges of human history, of human nature.”
The Colombian consul closed the ceremony thanking the clergy and
the archbishop for leading the Colombian community. He reiterated that his
people must work together to build the nation that their heroes of independence
dreamed of. He endorsed creating organizations like the three area Colombian
professional associations and the Colombian-American Chamber of Commerce of
Atlanta established this year.
Another way is through the volunteer-driven Colombian committee,
which helped Father Sotelo-Peña organize the Mass and has aided Colombia
during natural disasters. The consul asked for them to support the new wave of
Colombians moving to Atlanta seeking better opportunities, as the metro area
now has an estimated 25,000 immigrants.
After Mass, the large crowd spilled into the new parish hall
decorated with a balloon image of the Colombian flag. They sipped Colombian
soft drinks and tasted foods from their homeland, eating empanadas,
buñuelos, rice with milk and other typical foods as Danzas
Genéricas de Colombia performed folkloric dances.
The Mass evoked a mixture of emotions. Father Luis Zarama came to
Atlanta nine years ago, like other Colombian priests, because of the priestly
vocation shortage. He is assistant director of Hispanic vocations and became a
U.S. citizen on July 4. He expressed pride in his dual identity.
“I feel at home ... I’m happy. I love the Archdiocese of
Atlanta. I need to feel 100 percent part of the states and with that I think I
can serve better the church and the Spanish people,” said the pastor of
St. Mark’s Church, Clarksville.
He also expressed concern for his three brothers in Colombia, whom
he visits yearly. “It’s difficult to see them in the turmoil.”
For Roddy and Gina Castillo-Alvarez, it was a somber celebration.
They moved to Atlanta from Colombia eight years ago for a better life and to
raise their daughter in a more safe, moral society where Christian values
aren’t distorted.
“This is more than a celebration. It’s really today to
become more concerned about the situation in Colombia right now, to be in
solidarity with the people of Colombia right now that are having a bad
time,” he said.
A friend’s mother was a victim of a political kidnapping in
July, he said. His wife added that she is anxious because her daughter is
spending the summer in Colombia, but said, “I think her spending her
summer there, seeing how it is to be Colombian, is very important.”
Immaculate Heart of Mary parishioner Gilberto Cuartas, a member of
the Colombian committee, was pleased with the large show of support.
“We feel it’s no time to celebrate. We celebrate
independence and Colombia is not independent right now. There’s nothing to
celebrate other than praying that things will get better,” he said.
“This is one of the biggest (Colombian) things in the 30 years I’ve
been in Atlanta.”
Cuartas said the committee supports Colombia throughout the year
and in February sent food, money, clothes and hospital equipment there after an
earthquake in Armenia. Father Sotelo-Peña agreed that the Colombian
community here must support one another. He said that the Mass was a great
opportunity to pray for their loved ones and that they have much hope and much
work to do.
“At this event, we feel at home. We can experience a little
bit of our culture through our dance and the faith, the sacrifice of the
Mass,” he said.
Later he added, “I appreciate so much ... this American
country, but my first country is Colombia, absolutely.” |
