Lynching of mayor in Peru raises human rights challenges for church

Published: 2004-05-03

LIMA, Peru (CNS) -- The lynching of the mayor of a town in the southern highlands of Peru has shocked the country and raised new challenges for the area's Catholic Church, which has historically been a leader in human rights. "People trust the church. They have always had great hope that the church can solve many problems," said Bishop Elio Perez Tapia of Juli, a mostly rural area on the Bolivian border. The April 26 lynching of Ilave Mayor Cirilo Robles shocked the country. Many church leaders said it could have been avoided. In a statement issued April 27, Bishop Perez criticized government officials and the judiciary for not acting more quickly and called for dialogue between community groups and authorities. The macabre scene, in which Robles was dragged through the streets, beaten, kicked and, by some accounts, stabbed, came after three weeks of protests against his administration.

Copyright (c) 2004 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .