Lutheran Pastors Killed in El Salvador
Jayaque (El Salvador), November 9, 2006; (SVM News): Lutheran Pastor Rev. Francisco Carrillo and his co-pastor wife Jesus Calzada de Carrillo were brutally murdered in El Salvador on Saturday, the 4th of November 2006. They were gunned down by three males on bicycles as they were leaving the Montes de Pensbert congregation church of Dos de Mayo in the Jayaque Municipality in El Salvador's central department of La Libertad.
The Carrillos were serving the Pan de Vida and the Montes de Pensbert congregations in Jayaque. The SLS statement says they were tireless defenders of human rights. Among other responsibilities, Rev. Francisco Carrillo was president of the Green Cross (La Cruz Verde) in Jayaque, which includes medical charities and organizations providing health care to the local people. The couple is survived by two adult children.
The gunmen are unidentified, and an investigation has not been completed, said Mary Campbell, chairwoman of the Milwaukee synod's El Salvador committee and a former missionary who worked with the Carrillos for four years in El Salvador. The pastors may have been killed by a gang, or their deaths might have been politically motivated, she said.
The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko said, "this tragic news serves to impress upon us again the serious and increasing violence afflicting society in El Salvador, and the important work being undertaken by the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod in an often difficult and dangerous context".
Noko expects the Salvadoran authorities will conduct a swift and thorough investigation of this crime, and to bring those responsible to justice.
In a joint letter of condolence to the SLS Bishop, Dr Medardo E. Gomez Soto, the LWF Area Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rev. Martin Junge, and Dr Guillermo Kerber, the World Council of Churches (WCC) program executive for Latin America and the Caribbean in the international affairs team say, "We are aware of the fact that these cruel events unfortunately have become a daily experience in the Salvadoran society, making human life increasingly precarious and the population more vulnerable to becoming victims of such violence."
The Carrillos were serving the Pan de Vida and the Montes de Pensbert congregations in Jayaque. The SLS statement says they were tireless defenders of human rights. Among other responsibilities, Rev. Francisco Carrillo was president of the Green Cross (La Cruz Verde) in Jayaque, which includes medical charities and organizations providing health care to the local people. The couple is survived by two adult children.
The gunmen are unidentified, and an investigation has not been completed, said Mary Campbell, chairwoman of the Milwaukee synod's El Salvador committee and a former missionary who worked with the Carrillos for four years in El Salvador. The pastors may have been killed by a gang, or their deaths might have been politically motivated, she said.
The General Secretary of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF) in Geneva, Rev. Dr Ishmael Noko said, "this tragic news serves to impress upon us again the serious and increasing violence afflicting society in El Salvador, and the important work being undertaken by the Salvadoran Lutheran Synod in an often difficult and dangerous context".
Noko expects the Salvadoran authorities will conduct a swift and thorough investigation of this crime, and to bring those responsible to justice.
In a joint letter of condolence to the SLS Bishop, Dr Medardo E. Gomez Soto, the LWF Area Secretary for Latin America and the Caribbean, Rev. Martin Junge, and Dr Guillermo Kerber, the World Council of Churches (WCC) program executive for Latin America and the Caribbean in the international affairs team say, "We are aware of the fact that these cruel events unfortunately have become a daily experience in the Salvadoran society, making human life increasingly precarious and the population more vulnerable to becoming victims of such violence."
Pastor Paul Ciniraj,
Salem Voice Ministries
posted by Salem Voice @ 7:19 AM
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