The opinions expressed by columnists are your total and absolute personal responsibilitydoes not compromise the editorial or journalistic line of LA CRÓNICA SAS
With surprise and joy we received the news of the ‘Founders Cordon’ decoration for the diocese of Armenia for its social leadership and commitment to the poorest and most needy. This recognition, received with humility, awakens feelings of gratitude that immerse us in the memories of December 17, 1952, when Pope Pius XII issued the bull creating this ecclesiastical jurisdiction. 70 years of the diocese, witness to progress, technical and technological advances, population growth, rural development, violence and poverty.
The diocese has walked to the rhythm of the department of Quindío founded in 1966 and has sown seeds of faith, love and hope in each municipality, especially in the Miracle City of Colombia, since the territoriality of the diocese corresponds to the same civil organization and this is a benefit, for the cultural unity, the customs, the idiosyncrasy and the richness of our terroir. In these events, the Church has shared the joys, joys and hopes of the people of Quindío, as well as the sorrows and suffering of the thousands of families affected by the 1999 earthquake that hit the Coffee Region; painful events such as the fire in the Puerto Rico neighborhood in the vicinity of the Nuestra Señora del Café parish and in recent months the fire in the Milagro de Dios y Providencia neighborhood.
The solidarity of the Cuyabros is awakened by these painful events, but when time passes there is a tendency to forget what happened and numb our conscience and solidarity, so we must always be reviving our civic and patriotic spirit. Given this recognition, it is fair to remember the bishops who have sown seeds of faith, peace and hope, from Monsignor Jesús Martínez Vargas, inaugurated on February 6, 1953 as its first bishop, through Monsignor Libardo Ramírez Gómez, Monsignor José Roberto López Londoño, Monsignor Fabio Duque Jaramillo (RIP), OFM, Monsignor Pablo Emiro Salas Anteliz and myself, inaugurated on February 2, 2019. Together with this group of bishops, it is worth remembering Monsignor Gonzalo Guevara Pérez, priest of the diocese who Monsignor Fabio Betancur Tirado, (qpd) and Monsignor Alberto Giraldo Jaramillo (qpd) served as diocesan administrator, who were apostolic administrators.
It is commendable to recognize that this decoration has to do with the evangelizing spirit of the Church, of priests, men and women religious and permanent deacons who have given their lives in the service of Jesus and the Gospel, sparing no effort, some of them, already in the glory of the Father. It is wonderful to remember the fruit and the apostolic fruitfulness that the spirituality movements have contributed, the diverse pastoral realities and the lived and shared faith of the faithful Catholics who pilgrimage in Quindío. The Church has been present in the big and small events of the city of Armenia and has contributed with its work, often silent, to peace and social justice through a pastoral, capable of reading the needs of the brothers in their various dimensions: human, spiritual, psychological, social, family, academic, apostolic and showing Jesus as the answer to the desires of the human heart. The diocesan Church, in its evangelizing task, reminds us that the family is God’s dream and ‘the joy of the Church’ (AL 1), commits us to defend life from the moment of conception until natural death, recognizing that God has inscribed the law of his love on our hearts.
In its social dimension, responsibility towards the poorest is the very essence of the gospel, since Jesus tells us: ‘give them something to eat’ (Lk 9:13), however, it is not only sociological poverty that reminds us of the existence of many Lázaros stationed at the doors of our homes waiting for the crumbs that fall from our tables; also the emotional and spiritual poverty that urges us to think that ‘man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God’ (Mt 4,3-4). The diocesan Church looks to the hearts of children, adolescents, youth, families, the elderly, the homeless, brothers and sisters deprived of their liberty, the sick, professionals, peasants, in short, of all men and women of good will without regard to people. Hence, this award leads us to say ‘thank you’ to the mayor and the board that has chosen the diocese as deserving of this recognition; say thank God because as a diocese we continue to be a spiritual bastion for this coffee land. It encourages us to continue working without making much noise, but with fruitfulness for the glory of God; commits us to continue working for the poor, overcoming poverty and poverty towards prosperity from the gospel. For all this, thanks to you for ‘trusting’ and ‘joining us’ in the great adventure of love for God in our most needy brothers and sisters.