Msgr. Romulo Emiliani Sánchez, C.M.F., auxiliary bishop of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, has begun a dialogue with the main criminal gangs in his Central American nation in an attempt at a truce modeled after an agreement that has reduced gang violence in the neigboring country of El Salvador. “We are in a process of recovering respect for life; we are listening to both gangs, but the government has not yet given an answer,” said Bishop Sánchez. The two gangs are the Mara Salvatrucha and the “18 Street” gang. The bishop has acknowledged that the government is reluctant to talk to the gangs, but “we have the example of countries such as El Salvador, Guatemala and Colombia,” where authorities have negotiated with gang members to promote peace. Bishop Sánchez said the progress of the peace efforts may be measured in “generations’ time.”
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John Donaghy
5 years ago
The auxiliary bishop of San Pedro Sula should be noted as Monseñor/Bishop Emiliani. As is common in Latin America he has two last names Emiliani Sánchez, the first of which is his father's name and the second his mother's. So it is inaccurate to call him Bishop Sánchez.
Bishop Emiliani is a remarkable bishop in his ministry to "those deprived of liberty," as we call the imprisoned here. A short time ago he negotiated the end of a riot that had killed several people, going into the prison several times. As i heard him say, he wasn't sure he would come out alive. I pray his courage and his faith in God will help bring about a peace between the gangs and violence free zones as has happened in El Salvador.
