“The first obligation of all those who exercise some kind of leadership in the country is to understand the profound distress of individuals and families who are subject to unfair inequalities, to arbitrary decisions that affect their daily lives, and to abusive daily practices that disproportionately affect the most vulnerable groups”. The Permanent Council of the Chilean Bishops’ Conference wrote this following the wave of unrest that broke out last Friday. Three people died in the clashes that paralysed the capital Santiago. Soldiers and tanks were deployed in the streets, and a night-time curfew was declared.
The Chilean Bishops’ Conference “firmly” condemns “all acts of violence in the country’s capital, namely the attacks on people, destruction of property, looting of shops and the closure of a transport system that serves hundreds of thousands of citizens and is vital to the city’s mobility”. But “for this condemnation to be effective, we must take responsibility and understand the roots of this violence and urgently work to prevent and stop it, by finding peaceful ways to resolve conflicts”.

It is “time for us to turn our concern into action, into the acceptance and creation of scenarios that will allow us to understand the changes that the Chilean society has undergone, so that institutions may serve the common good, starting with the complex and new realities characterising today’s society. It is time for us to face up the truth and openly look at our strengths and achievements, at our conflicts and failures”. The Bishops concluded: “Chile needs a social dialogue focused on people and the way they live together in the house of all. It needs civic friendship based on the common good, in a situation where political, social and economic actors can give up their individual interests and work for projects shared by most of us. Each of our fellow citizens has a contribution to make, and the authorities, in their areas of responsibility, must be able to listen to the voice of their people”.