Fire in Colombia

The charge was religious persecution. It was made by Treasurer-elect Daniel M. Pattison of the Board of Foreign Missions of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. (Northern) in a letter last week to U.S. Senators and the State Department. Objects of the charge were the supporters of the Conservative Party now in power in the South American republic of Colombia. During the past year or so, said Pattison, the Roman Catholic Conservatives had been systematically trying to drive the Protestants out by beatings, bombings, arson and intimidation.

Pattison listed a round dozen "recent" incidents, gathered in a week spent in Colombia inspecting hospitals, schools and other works of the 39 Presbyterian missionaries now there. The Presbyterians, he said, had not been the only ones mistreated. Wrote he: "The Lutheran Church, which, with the Presbyterians, has the largest United States mission representation in Colombia, is ready to add its expressed protest to the religious persecution being experienced by Protestants under the present regime. The Scandinavian Alliance missionaries have been forced to leave--fleeing to Venezuela. Smaller groups have experienced at least as severe persecution."

Sample evidence cited by Pattison:

P: "In the district of Cali . . . of 38 churches and congregations, only eight remain open today. About ten churches have been burned and a number of the pastors have been put in jail . . ."

P: "In a town near Cali a wedding was being celebrated when police forced their way into the church, arresting the pastor and beating up the bride, groom and some of those in attendance . . . The pastor had to escape from the town at night in disguise."

P: "In the Department of Boyaca the entire work of the Lutherans has been destroyed. During the first week of March their last outpost, which was manned by two nurses, was burned to the ground, and the women had to seek safety outside the state."

P: "One pastor, the Rev. Juan Libreras, was arrested on the charge of having prayed for the death of the President-elect, Laureano Gomez."

P: "The . . . dynamiting of the church in Dabeiba" has led "numbers of people of Dabeiba, many of them Catholics, [to express] their regrets at what happened and testify that they are not in sympathy with such acts of violence."

"These acts of persecution," concluded Pattison, "might be multiplied 100 times if one took the time to collect the details. Sworn statements from those who have suffered can be obtained if it is so desired."

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