A young
Neocatechumenal victim of street violence
Information services in Venezuela announced that a stray bullet
during a shootout between gangs killed Elvis Bernabe Rojas Yepez. Rojas was 26
years old. He was the head Psalmist (or cantor) of the fourth Neocatechumenal community of his
parish, Our Lady of Carmen, in the Las Cumbres, in Antímano, Caracas,
Venezuela.
The incident occurred on Saturday night. The communities had
just finished the Eucharist and since Rojas was the one in charge of closing
the Church, he was the last to leave. Eyewitnesses say that just after the
celebration, there was a skirmish between two gangs just near the Church. A
bullet was diverted on to the door of the Church. It ended the life of Elvis.
"We heard like 20 shots and suddenly I realized my brother
had been hit," his brother said. He was rushed to hospital but when he
arrived, he was already dead.
Elvis Rojas was in a Computer Technical school and at the same
time working in the bank BOD Square Mall. He was the eldest of three brothers.
Antímano is an area located west of Caracas, with a population
of 150,000 inhabitants, and is
considered one of the most violent areas of Latin America.
There are many killed by stray bullets in the ghettos, what makes this young man different? Is it because he is a neocatechumenal member?
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous at 9:50 pm,
DeleteIn the eyes of God and His Church, all life is sacred from the moment of conception to natural death. The life of this young man matters to God, who loves everyone regardless of whether they are in the Way or not. All people were special to Christ that He gave His life to bring salvation to them.
I allowed your comment to be publish to show that there are some people with no heart. Your comment was cruel enough to the parents and family of this young man. I hope and pray that you never get to experience their pain. It is never easy for any parent to lose a son or daughter. Losing a loved one is never easy. May God have mercy on your soul.
Amazing! How those who oppose the Way have so much hate in their heart that they show no compassion at all for the loss of an innocent human life.
DeleteNo hatred at all here. If you are going to write about children being killed by stray bullets, or bombings, or by other means of violent at, then include all. I read world affairs. Did you write about the bombing of a church in Irag where 4 children were killed?
DeleteDear Anonymous at 12:43 am,
DeleteAnd I think you should treat all children killed by stray bullets equally rather than be prejudice against only those who are members of the NCW. If you cannot have any sympathy for this one young man simply because he walks in the Way, then you would have no sympathy for the 4 children killed in Iraq.
My deepest condolences to the family, friends, and community members of Elvis Rojas. You are all in our prayers. God bless you!
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteWhy you post this Diana? What about children killed in shooting in American schools. Do you pray for them post their names.? No. You are one sided Diana only way thinking for you. That is your problem. You have no compassion for those outside the way.
Dear Anonymous at 9:51 am,
DeleteWho are you to tell me what to post on my blog??? The proper response to this post would be to offer condolences to the family of this young man just as Anonymous 11:59 pm did in his/her comment above. The fact that you chose to only see that he walks in the Way shows your true colors.
How blessed is Elvis that he was killed just after the Eucharist. He died with the Word of God ringing in his ears, bearing the body and blood soul and divinity of Jesus Christ inside him and with the psalms on his lips. What a holy death! Prayers for his soul and for his family, friends, and community.
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me that this happened on January 9, 2016 but definitely no later. The earliest news that I found were of January 11.
ReplyDeleteMay God receive Elvis in the company of his saints, and may He strengthen the hope of the resurrection in those grieving and in all of us.
Currently we should also pray for those affected by the March 4 terrorist attack in Yemen where elderly people, volunteers and four nuns of the Missionaries of Charity were murdered.
9:50 p.m. do you live in the ghetto???
ReplyDelete