Brazilian cardinal calls for peace, solidarity with poor after deadly police raid

(OSV News) -- Brazilian Cardinal Orani João Tempesta of Rio de Janeiro appealed for peace after a police operation targeting a local drug trafficking gang resulted in the deaths of more than a hundred people.

In a statement released Oct. 28, hours after the deadly raid, Cardinal Tempesta said, "Violence and fear have wounded the heart of our city," and he reaffirmed that human life "is a sacred gift from God and must always be defended and preserved."

"It is urgent that we unite our forces for reconciliation, mutual respect, and, above all, the protection of life, the promotion of justice, and the building of a peaceful society that fosters the dignity of every person, especially the poorest and most vulnerable," the cardinal wrote.

The Associated Press reported that an estimated 2,500 police officers descended on two slum neighborhoods, known as favelas, in a raid against the local drug trafficking gang Red Command.

The operation led to a shootout that local witnesses described as an all-out street war, resulting in 132 deaths, including four police officers. Police said the raid also led to the arrest of 113 suspects and the seizure of dozens of firearms and more than a ton of drugs.

While local authorities stated that those killed resisted or attacked police, local residents protested the police's alleged use of excessive force. Residents lined the streets with the bodies of those killed.

Given the high death toll, human rights organizations, including the U.N. human rights body, called for investigations into the raid, according to the AP.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva took to X Oct. 30 and said he had instructed the government's justice minister and the director general of the federal police to meet with Rio's state governor, Claudio Castro, to investigate the circumstances of the raid.

"We cannot accept that organized crime continues to destroy families, oppress residents, and spread drugs and violence across cities," he wrote. "We need coordinated work that strikes at the backbone of drug trafficking without putting police, children and innocent families at risk."

In his message, Cardinal Tempesta said that as disciples of Jesus, Christians are "called to be builders of peace, to overcome the hatred, vengeance and indifference that corrode the social fabric."

The cardinal said he believed "that love and goodness are stronger than any violence," even in the face of chaos.

"I ask each of you to be an instrument of this peace," Cardinal Tempesta wrote. "We cannot fuel hatred, nor respond with indifference. Rio de Janeiro was born with a vocation for joy and welcoming. May we, with faith and perseverance, return the glow of peace and the strength of fraternity to our city."

Cardinal Tempesta called on the people of the city to "remain steadfast" in prayer and in rebuilding peace, urging them to "be seeds of reconciliation" through their words and deeds.

"May the Lord of life comfort our hearts, heal the wounds of violence, and make us instruments of his peace," he wrote.