Bishop Seeks End To Honduran Crisis

A Honduran bishop has said he will launch an effort to resolve the ongoing political crisis in the Central American country. Bishop Luis Santos Villeda of Santa Rosa de Copán said on Sept. 16 that he would see whether dialogue is possible between “the Resistance,” Hondurans who oppose the government installed in a coup on June 28, “and the economically powerful who are behind the coup.” Bishop Santos said that dialogue is important, “because if the armed forces and the police continue killing the people of the Resistance…this could provoke widespread resentment that could evolve into a civil war.” Bishop Santos has celebrated Mass at two public demonstrations organized by the Resistance, but he denies that he is a member of the political movement. “It’s the people who are in the Resistance, not me,” he said. “My task is to provide pastoral accompaniment.”