Archbishop Jose Antonio Eguren of Piura urged Peruvians to pray for the
Virgin Mary's intercession, as drug trafficking and terrorism are on the
rise throughout Latin America. In a Sept. 24 Mass in honor of Our Lady of Mercies, Archbishop Eguren recalled the 1992 capture of Abimael Guzman, the leader of the Peruvian terrorist group called the Shining Path.
Although the group's activity declined in the years following Guzman's arrest, small remnants are beginning to grow again through involvement in drug trafficking.
During his homily Archbishop Eguren condemned the recent killing of several soldiers and policemen by drug traffickers in the jungles of southern Peru.
He also called on Peruvian President Ollanta Humala to give the Armed Forces the resources it needs “to regain as soon as possible its capacity as a defense and deterrent” against terrorism.
Archbishop Eguren concluded his homily urging “a great movement of national unity against terrorism in which all Peruvians, those in uniform and those not, to close ranks against it, and clearly and unambiguously condemn it.”
Terrorism, he underscored, “is profoundly inhumane, anti-Gospel, and an enemy of the dignity of the person and social peace.”