Colombian Rebels Release Kidnapped Bishop

(Compass) – Colombia ’s second-largest guerrilla group snatched a Roman Catholic bishop on July 24, but freed him three days later. Operatives of the National Liberation Army (ELN) kidnapped 48-year-old Misael Vacca Ramírez, bishop of Yopal in the department (state) of Casanare, as he was traveling near the village of Morcote . Bishop Vacca told Colombian media that he believed he was freed because of national and international outrage at his abduction. Following several high-profile abductions involving evangelical Christians in recent years, the ELN promised to respect Protestant pastors and churches. But evangelical leaders still run the risk of abduction. “If they can do it with a high functionary of the Catholic Church, they can do it with a high functionary of the evangelical church,” said Ricardo Esquivia of the Evangelical Council of Colombia (CEDECOL).