El Salvador Catholic Church supports a gang truce rejected by government

(The Christian Science Monitor) El Salvador's Catholic Church has been openly engaging in talks with gang members, raising hopes that a truce reached by gang leaders earlier this year will have the support it needs to curb violence in a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world.

“Dialogue should be open to everyone, and everyone has to be an actor in this peace process,” said auxiliary bishop Gregorio Rosa Chávez after mass at the Metropolitan Cathedral on February 8. “No one can be excluded.”

This is the first time the church has come out in full support of starting a dialogue with the gangs. While one bishop was heavily involved in a 2012 gang truce facilitated by the government, the church was divided on its involvement and eventually denounced the truce. Its latest call for support is giving some hope that this agreement can bring about a more tenable solution and lasting peace.