The leaders of the Latin American bishops’ conference CELAM has issued a statement of support for Cardinal Alvaro Ramazzini of Huehuetenango, Guatemala, who has been threatened with arrest by his country’s government.
The cardinal has appealed for the recognition of president-elect Bernardo Arevalo, who won a resounding upset victory in August elections and is due to take office in January. The incumbent government has pursued criminal charges against Arevalo, prompting concerns that the democratic process could be thwarted.
CELAM backed Cardinal Ramazzini as “a witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ incarnated in the poorest whose voice reveals the feeling of a people seeking ways to express their just demands.”
Cardinal Ramazzini, who is currently in Germany, said that he had not been informed of any plan for his arrest. He added that his trip to Germany had been scheduled long ago, and he had not left the country to avoid arrest.