Lenny
01-02-2006, 05:43 AM
Roman Catholic Bishops Accused of Inciting Violence in Peru
LIMA -- Peru's private-sector Mining, Petroleum and Energy Society may lodge a complaint about several Catholic bishops it alleges are inciting protests against the mining industry.
Mining sector and government officials have accused some bishops of inciting violent protests that took place in late July and early August when more than 1,000 peasant farmers converged on Monterrico Metals Plc's Rio Blanco project in northern Peru.
Protesters alleged that the project will contaminate their water supply.
In the ensuing violence, one person was killed and at least 19 people were injured. Protesters also took three local residents employed by the company hostage.
Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, head of the society's mining committee, was quoted by Gestion newspaper Wednesday as saying that the society is evaluating the possibility of presenting a complaint to the Vatican.
Andrew Bristow, operations manager for Rio Blanco, also pointed a finger at the Catholic Church.
Last week, Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero said that some priests in northern Peru don't "correctly understand their role" and Deputy Mines Minister Romulo Mucho also said that the church had stepped outside of its boundaries.
Complaints in particular have focused on Daniel Turley, the bishop of Chulucanas in Piura and Francisco Muguiro, the Jesuit apostolic vicar of Jaen in Cajamarca, both areas in northern Peru.
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:dyd1rXslPQEJ:https://www.tdcanada.wallst.com/tdw/canada/public/stocks/news/news.asp%3FdocKey%3D1-BT20050810005999-434QTTCF4OHJV8DK0VK68SJH0O%26Source%3DDJNF
LIMA -- Peru's private-sector Mining, Petroleum and Energy Society may lodge a complaint about several Catholic bishops it alleges are inciting protests against the mining industry.
Mining sector and government officials have accused some bishops of inciting violent protests that took place in late July and early August when more than 1,000 peasant farmers converged on Monterrico Metals Plc's Rio Blanco project in northern Peru.
Protesters alleged that the project will contaminate their water supply.
In the ensuing violence, one person was killed and at least 19 people were injured. Protesters also took three local residents employed by the company hostage.
Oscar Gonzalez Rocha, head of the society's mining committee, was quoted by Gestion newspaper Wednesday as saying that the society is evaluating the possibility of presenting a complaint to the Vatican.
Andrew Bristow, operations manager for Rio Blanco, also pointed a finger at the Catholic Church.
Last week, Prime Minister Carlos Ferrero said that some priests in northern Peru don't "correctly understand their role" and Deputy Mines Minister Romulo Mucho also said that the church had stepped outside of its boundaries.
Complaints in particular have focused on Daniel Turley, the bishop of Chulucanas in Piura and Francisco Muguiro, the Jesuit apostolic vicar of Jaen in Cajamarca, both areas in northern Peru.
http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:dyd1rXslPQEJ:https://www.tdcanada.wallst.com/tdw/canada/public/stocks/news/news.asp%3FdocKey%3D1-BT20050810005999-434QTTCF4OHJV8DK0VK68SJH0O%26Source%3DDJNF