Guatemalan cardinal calls for end to criminal violence

Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada Toruno of Guatemala exhorted his fellow Christians on April 4 to englighten their country, long marked by political violence and now tormented by criminal organizations and gang violence. Guatemala is "tormented by violence, injustice, and hatred" said the Catholic prelate. "I call upon you that, during these difficult moments that we are going through, Jesus - who died and rose again - should become better recognized, beloved, and heeded," said the cardinal during his Easter Sunday address.

He expressed the hope that the Resurrection of Jesus should cause people to defend the poor and the needy while recalling the words of Jesus. The leader of Guatemala's Catholics added that Guatemalans are truly "united in the joys and sorrows" of Pope Benedict XVI. The cardinal noted that a fellow prince of the church - Cardinal Angelo Sodano who came to the defense of the pope against the "filthy gossip" and "murmurings" that have allegedly marked media reports about the Vatican's treatment of priests accused of homosexual affairs and pedophilia in schools and parishes under their care in Germany, Ireland, and the US.