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Like many other major websites used by the far right, the self-described Christian crowdfunding site GiveSendGo, which was used by Canadas Freedom Convoy protest movement against public health measures to raise millions of dollars, has been hacked very badly, exposing a massive amount of data about the movements donors. The data shows that this movement is supported by a broad-based international network of far-right activists, as well as wealthy donors, who are also involved in activism against Covid-19 vaccines, American democracy, and the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States.

On February 10, the Ontario Superior Court ofJusticeordered GiveSendGo to freeze access to the money raised in both of these campaigns. Know this! Canada has absolutely ZERO jurisdiction over how we manage our funds here at GiveSendGo, the company tweeted in response. Shortly afterward, the hacker broke into the crowdfunding companys website and stole the donation records and a whole lot more.

Activists on the right are not happy about this.

The Intercept obtained the hacked donor data including records of roughly 104,000 donors who gave $9.6 million to two separate GiveSendGo crowdfunding campaigns, Freedom Convoy 2022 and Adopt a Trucker from the transparency collective Distributed Denial of Secrets, which is releasing it to journalists and researchers who request access. (For the record, Im an adviser to DDoSecrets.)

After analyzing the dataset, The Intercept discovered that the majority of donors to the Freedom Convoy included in the data are Americans, including U.S. billionaire Thomas Siebel, who is listed as donating $90,000, the largest individual donation. Hundreds of donors are members of the Oath Keepers, an American far-right paramilitary organization. Stewart Rhodes, the Oath Keepers founder, was the first January 6 insurrectionist to be charged with seditious conspiracy.

On Wednesday, a Washington Post analysis of U.S.ZIP codes in the data concluded that the richer an American community was, the more likely residents there were to donate, and the biggest number of contributions often came from communities where registered Republicans made up solid majorities.

Freedom Convoy donors also contributed $7.6 million to other fundraising campaigns on GiveSendGos platform.

Thousands of donors gave money to various anti-vaccine causes promoted by Project Veritas, a far-right group known for deceptively editing videos of its undercover operations. On Monday, The Intercept reported that Project Veritas has collaborated on a video project with Americas Frontline Doctors, a major anti-vaccine propaganda group that works with telehealth companies to rake in millions of dollars selling bogus treatments for Covid-19. After that article was published, Project Veritas and AFLDS both denied that they were working together despite the fact that the video trailer lists a Project Veritas staffer as a consulting producer and promotional materials prominently mention ProjectVeritas.

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And thousands more helped fund efforts to overturn President Joe Bidens 2020 electoral victory over Donald Trump. Many had also previously given in support of Kyle Rittenhouse, the far-right teenage vigilante who in 2020 shot three Black Lives Matter protesters, killing two of them, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Rittenhouse was found not guilty on all counts.

Several donors used government email addresses from agencies like the Transportation Security Administration, the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Prisons, and NASA. The Intercept found one donor who used an email address from the Correctional Service of Canada, the Canadian prison system.

Jacob Wells, co-founder of GiveSendGo, verified the authenticity of the hack to the Washington Post. The Globe and Mailconfirmed that at least one donor listed in the hacked data donated to the campaign. Brad Howard, the president of a Canadian pressure washer company who donated $75,000 to the fund, issued a statement in support of the Freedom Convoy. Gizmodo reached out to several top donors listed in the data, but only a single donor had respondedonly to say Gizmodo should investigate Black Lives Matter instead.

Of the 104,180 donations, 59 percent came from Americans, while only 39 percent came from Canadians. However, Canadians gave just over 50 percent, $4.8 million, of the total money raised, while American donations made up 44 percent, or $4.2 million.

The Intercept

The largest donation record in the hacked data is for $215,000 but does not include data about the donor or which countrythe money came from. The only information included is the note Processed but not recorded. Wells told the Washington Post that this isnt a single donation at all but rather an attempt by GiveSendGo to make the public-facing total amount raised accurate, lumping together many donations that came in offline or before its Freedom Convoy campaign page went live.

The second-largest donation record is $90,000 from Siebel,a Silicon Valley billionaire who founded the enterprise software company Siebel Systems. The email address associated with his donation is hosted on the domain siebel.org. Siebel has supported right-wing causes in the past: In 2008 he hosted a fundraiser for then-vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin.

The third-largest donation record is $75,000 from Brad Howland, president of the Canadian pressure cleaner company Easy Kleen Pressure Systems. The hacked data marks Howlands donation as anonymous, though he confirmed to the Globe and Mail that he made this donation and supports the Freedom Convoy. His donation included the comment HOLD THE LINE!!!

By cross-referencing data from this hack with last years hack of the Oath Keepers, which included membership and donor records, The Intercept discovered 355 matches.

The Oath Keepers were key players in the deadly January 6 Capitol attack that was aimed at overturning Bidens victory in the 2020 presidential election. Prosecutors allege that Oath Keepers stashed weapons at a nearby hotel as part of quick reaction forces that could activate if violence escalated.

Oath Keepers left comments with their donations such as: NWO Tyrants need to be crushed by the fist of Liberty and Freedom. God bless these truckers and their supporters! Thank you!; Make Canada Great Again helps Make America Great Again; and The communist pigs in uniform are going to try and steal fuel and food. The Biden Junta is afraid of this happening here. this may be why DHS issued a domestic terrorist threat against americans exercising their first amendment rights. They want to silence free speech and separate people from forming groups to fight the communist coup.

The hacked data includes the history of every donation ever made through the GiveSendGo platform. Freedom Convoy donorsgave a total of $7.6 million to other GiveSendGo campaigns as well as the $9.6 million to the Freedom Convoy campaigns.

By comparing the email addresses of Freedom Convoy donors with donations from other GiveSendGo campaigns, The Intercept discovered that many of the same donors alsogave money to other anti-vaccine causes championed by Project Veritas.

The Intercept also discovered that many donors gave to anti-democracy efforts in the U.S., legal defense funds for January 6 prisoners, the legal defense fund for Rittenhouse, and various funds supporting the Proud Boys, an American hate group that also played a role in the January 6 Capitol attack.

A handful of small donations were made using government email addresses.

Someone donated using an email address from the Correctional Service of Canada, the Canadian agency responsible for running prisons. Whilethe user listed his real first and last name in the donation, he put George Soros as his display name.

Another persondonated multiple times with their U.S. Department of Justice email address. Two people donated using Federal Bureau of Prisons email addresses, and two others donated using NASA email addresses. One donor used their delaware.gov email address. Someone with a U.S. Navy email address donated $50 and listed their display name as Lets Go Brandon, and someone with a U.S. Army email address donated $25.

One person used his TSA email address to donate $50 to the anti-vaccine mandate Freedom Convoy.The transportation agencyhas enforced mandates, like requiring passengers to remove their shoes when going through airport checkpoints, in the name of security since September 11, 2001.

Original post:
Oath Keepers, Anti-Democracy Activists, and Others on the Far Right Are Funding Canada's Freedom Convoy - The Intercept

DANVILLE Washingtons nasty political fights between Democrats and Republicans dominate the daily news, making many people turn away and tune out.

Active involvement is needed now, more than ever, according to local committee chairs.

Democracy works only with participation, said Betsy Finn, chair of the Montour County Democratic Committee. That is why, to serve the common good, people need to step forward.

Janet Comrey, who heads the Montour County Republican Committee, took on her position because of a strong feeling of civic responsibility. She is hoping that more people feel that responsibility to get involved and help bring order to government.

She said she also feels, its important to understand your values and find and promote those candidates with like values.

Petitioning in Pennsylvania is temporarily halted due to disputes over redistricted voting maps.

The state Supreme Court is expected to hear oral arguments on the case Friday and likely make a ruling shortly after. The three-week petitioning period is likely to start soon after that.

Most people are unaware that it takes just 10 signatures to get on their precincts ballot in May and be elected as representative to their partys committee. County committees work mainly to promote candidates and to get out the vote.

Since local geography includes two counties, with Danville and surrounding townships in Montour County and Riverside and Rush Township in Northumberland County, it is a bit complicated. Each county is allowed two representatives from each precinct on each partys county committee. Montour County has 15 precincts, while much larger Northumberland County has 74. All of these committees are in need of more members.

At present, Montours Republicans have just ten (out of 30 possible) and the Democrats even fewer.

Le Paliulis, chair of the Democratic Committee in Northumberland County, has a group of about 35 elected members but could have 148.

We especially need people from Riverside, Rush Township, and Ralpho Townships, she said. Being part of politics is the most important form of activism, and its exciting to get involved.

She began as a volunteer in 2017, was elected to the committee in 2018, and became chair in 2021.

Deb Betz, Republican chair in Northumberland County, is equally enthusiastic, and has made a pact that there be no confrontation between parties. Her goal is for people to inform themselves about what is true and what is not and to help educate others. When she became head of the Republican committee a year and a half ago, there were 30 members. By latest count, she now has 89. But she, too, has a need for people from Riverside and Rush Township.

Finn said she understands why people may be hesitant to volunteer.

Its hard to ask people to step up and serve their community in a public way, she said, but thats what democracy requires. Everything is so contentious nationally, but thats not true locally.

The first step, according to Darlis Dyer, assistant director of elections in Montour County, is for candidates to pick up an official petition and gather signatures from neighbors and friends who are registered voters in their party once the Supreme Court allows it.

For Republican committee persons, signatures can come from throughout the county, even though they will represent a particular precinct. Democrats add a few more rules. Each precinct elects one man and one woman to the committee, and all signatures must come from the precinct where the candidate resides. For both parties, Dyer recommends getting a few extra signatures beyond the 10 required.

Those who wish to run must bring the petition and signatures in to be certified by the countys notary. Their name will then be put on the May ballot. No fee is required to file. Committee members are elected during the primary, and the committees reorganized in June. Terms last four years.

To run for governor or senator requires 2,000 signatures statewide. Other state offices, like attorney general or treasurer or representative to the U.S. Congress, require 1,000 signatures distributed among counties throughout the state or district. Local party committees do their best to help in collecting those.

All four chairs agree that the committee workload is light to moderate, depending on the season. All hold a monthly meeting where they discuss candidates and issues and plan future outreach events.

We provide information to voters, but dont endorse anyone, said Paliulis. The decision is left to the voters.

The week before an election is the busiest time, as committee members and volunteers walk around their neighborhoods placing door hangers that give information on candidates and encourage everyone to vote. They also help place candidates signs and staff party headquarters to get the word out. In 2020, both the Montour Dems and GOP had offices in place on Mill Street in Danville during the month of October. The Montour GOP also sets up regularly at the Lewisburg Market House to reach voters.

All the current chairs have held their positions mostly during the time of COVID, which makes everything harder, according to Finn. People are hesitant to get together in person, and yet not all are comfortable enough with computers to meet remotely.

The Montour Republicans always had a spring dinner, a summer picnic, and a fall banquet, Comrey said, but these have been on hold since COVID began.

She is pleased at the return of the Lincoln Day Gala this year, at the Montour Delong Fairgrounds on March 5. The theme of this years dinner is to support law enforcement, and keynote speaker is David Sunday, who will address the opioid epidemic. Candidates for office are invited, too, and proceeds go toward the Montour County Republican Committee. To attend this event, people should contact Janet Comrey at 570-490-0821.

Before COVID, county committees also staged petition nights, to collect signatures not only for local candidates but also statewide offices. COVID put a damper on that, said Dyer.

Montour and Northumberland counties party chairs are particularly proud of how well their groups work together. In Danville, the Democrats and Republicans joined to organize a debate night for school board candidates in Fall 2021. Finn and Marlene Gunther, of the Montour Republicans, hope to put together an information session in the near future about why and how to run for local offices.

Betz laments that people think politics are who we are, but we are more than that. She said she has made it a priority to work closely with Paliulis on common goals.

Democrats and Republicans get along very well now in this area, she said. Whats most important is to be both involved and respectful of each other.

Most people in this area are in the middle, even though politics plays to the extremes, Finn said.

The great danger, all agree, is for voters to cede their responsibility to other people.

If we dont get involved with elections they will happen without us, said Paliulis.

She said she hopes to get a lot of people to join the party committees this year.

If you want to be heard, you need to support candidates and help to get people out to vote, Paliulis said.

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Election officials: Step up to save democracy - Sunbury Daily Item

Taiwan stands forfreedom, transparency, accountability, and other democratic characteristics that clearly differentiate the island nation from China.

Taiwans commitment to cultivating a free economy and a vibrant civil society through independent democratic institutions has unambiguously made the country a notable example for Asia and the world in terms of how an emerging country can move progressively into new chapters of development.

Taiwanranked sixth in The Heritage Foundations newly released 2022Index of Economic Freedom.

The index assesses the economies of 184 countries based on 12 indicators of economic freedomfrom property rights to financial freedom. These indicators are grouped into four categories: rule of law, limited government, regulatory efficiency, and market openness.

With its overall score improving by 1.5 points to 80.1, Taiwan achieved the status of the economically free category in the index for the first time.

As the 2022 index notes, Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world to have experienced continuous economic growth during the past five years. Economic freedom has increased significantly during that period as well.

Also notable is that Taiwan recently ranked as the eighth most vibrantdemocracyin the world, according to the Economist Intelligence Units latestDemocracy Index, which is based on five key metrics: electoral process and pluralism, functioning of government, political participation, political culture, and civil liberties. In 2020, Taiwan, along with Japan and South Korea, moved up a category from flawed democracies to full democracies.

Indeed, Taiwans proven track record of being a free, vibrant member of free market democracy is not only remarkable, but also should be further enhanced through pragmatic, strategic partnerships with the United States and other like-minded, willing countries around the world.

Taiwans economic and political transformations are far more than domestic successes. They have fundamentally altered Taipeis relationship with Beijing, with Washington, and with the world. Unambiguously, Taiwans embrace of a free market democracy shows a better path for all the Chinese people.

Taiwan has demonstrated to the world that freedom is a stabilizing force, that free enterprise, free association, and free speech lead to entrepreneurship, prosperity, and security. That is precisely whyTaiwan mattersto the world more than ever. As former Secretary of State Mike Pompeounderscored, Taiwan is a democratic success story, a reliable partner, and a force for good in the world.

Indeed, history reminds us that allies and partners are critical to winning any global fight, particularly when members of the free world are facing increasing challenges from authoritarianism. Nations sharing the values of freedom, a rock-solid commitment to preserving rules-based order, and a deep-seated desire to preserve and advance those democratic values are natural partners and allies.

From a broader, long-term foreign policy perspective, Americas interests in Asia require more than soaring rhetoric and frequent meetings. They require action.

According to Washingtons latestIndo-Pacific Strategydocument, Chinas coercion and aggression spans the globe, but it is most acute in the Indo-Pacific. To achieve a more free and open region, the documentpoints outthat the U.S. will build coalitions by deepening treaty alliances and strengthening relationships with leading partners such as Taiwan, New Zealand, and Singapore.

The strategy paper furthernotesthat it is in the interest of America to ensure an environment in which Taiwans future is determined peacefully in accordance with the wishes and best interests of Taiwans people.

Toward that end, The Heritage Foundation has long called for greater economic interaction and broader dialogue between the U.S. and Taiwan through a bilateral trade and investment pact, which is the logical next step for elevating dynamic economic interaction between the two countries.

In last years Decemberreferendum, the Taiwanese people clearly expressed their determination to engage with the international community, showing that Taiwan is willing to accept international standards and tackle difficult trade issues.

Washington should take note of that. Clearly, starting the process of aU.S.-Taiwan free trade agreementis one worth investing further in over the next decade as well.

Such a practical, more institutionalized economic partnership would reinforce other vital diplomatic links betweenTaiwanand the United States as true partners in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond.

This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal

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Taiwan's Free and Vibrant Economy Is a Democratic Success Story - Heritage.org

Uttar Pradesh is in political turmoil. There is feverish speculation on the implications of the many defections and realignments that have taken place. Will it severely damage the BJPs electoral juggernaut in 2022? Will it rearrange social communities to the advantage of the Samajwadi Party (SP)? Will the Congresss strategy of reserving 40 per cent tickets for women have an impact on electoral outcomes? Will there be a consolidation of the Muslim vote, especially in eastern UP? Will the farmers movement in western UP revive the fortunes of the RLD? These are some of the important questions being asked about the impact of the churn on electoral outcomes. In this intense debate, one significant aspect of democratic politics seems to have gone largely unnoticed. The assembly election in UP, it appears, has irreversibly changed the party system in UP. It has become more democratic.

There are four aspects to this change. The first is the shift in the party system, which had emerged since 2017, from a one-dominant party system to an alternating two-plus party system. The tea leaves reveal that the BJPs stranglehold on the party system has considerably weakened, particularly with the growth and mobilising power of the challenging parties, especially the SP. An analysis of the party system shows that the BJP now has a credible competitor. The coalitions stitched together by the SP means that it is now able to compete, measure for measure, with the BJP. This can be seen in terms of any of the aspects of what parties do: Recruit leaders, mobilise social groups, transmit demands from below upwards to the party leadership and transmit policies downwards to its supporters, represent the interests of its constituents, organise mass meetings, raise resources, carry out an effective media campaign, and so on. The SP and its allies are successfully performing this role of a political party. By doing so, they have produced in 2022 a shift from a one-dominant party system to what the results will show, irrespective of who wins, an alternating two-plus party system. This change is a huge gain for democracy. Democratic competition will be both more intense, between the two coalitions, and more contained since the coalitions will now have to develop a politics of compromise if they are to retain their appeal to plural constituencies.

The second aspect of the changed party system is the rise of political leaders on whom the parties have become dependent. These are not party functionaries but important politicians within whom the interests of their communities are represented. That is how they are seen by their supporters. YouTube videos affirm this. These leaders should be seen through Edmund Burkes theory on representation, the trustee model, where the representative embodies the interests of their constituents; where he goes, they go. This is legitimate. The bigger parties must, therefore, be flexible enough to accommodate such leaders since they are both individuals and also the embodiments of their communities.

Leaders and parties such as Jayant Chaudharys Rashtriya Lok Dal, or Om Prakash Rajbhars Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party or Keshav Dev Mauryas Mahan Dal or Sanjay Chauhans Janwadi Party (Socialist) or Krishna Patels Apna Dal (Kamerawadi) are examples of this trusteeship model. The BJP too has accepted this new political reality, as can be seen in its alliances with individual-led parties such as the Shoshit Samaj Party, Bharatiya Manav Samaj Party, Musahar Andolan Manch, Manavhit Party, Prithvi Raj Janshakti Party and Bhartiya Samta Samaj Party. The party as an institution has, as a result, become less imposing and less authoritarian because of the many veto points that such leaders occupy. The BJP too is, therefore, compelled to move towards a model of accommodative politics as Vajpayees coalition government had to do. It may lead to the formulation of a Common Minimum Programme (CMP) that guides and binds government decisions. When this happens, the party system in UP will have moved from a politics of imposition, the will of one supremo, to a politics of deliberation, the will of many small supremos, from one Trump to many trumpeters.

The third aspect that follows from this weakening of the BJPs dominance is its inability to control the narrative. Since 2017, the BJP has been setting the terms of the political narrative as was seen in the riots in Muzzafarnagar or on love jihad or on the killing of cattle, etc. This has now changed with an equally robust counter-narrative. The response of Jayant Chaudhary to the BJP leadership in Delhi who sought an alliance with the RLD, asking them to first go to the homes of the 700 people who died in the farmers movement, or of Tikait closing some of his rallies with Har Har Mahadev and Allah hu Akbar, are examples of this counter-discourse. It has acquired traction not just in the physical world but also in the cyber world, countering the BJPs much-vaunted cyber warriors.

While the above three aspects are essentially specific to UP, the fourth has implications for national politics. For the first time in any election, in any significant state, important political leaders are leaving the BJP and joining the Opposition. The significance of this reverse traffic has been glaringly missed. If one had tracked earlier cases of party hopping since the 2014 general elections, one would have noticed that the trend was from other parties to the BJP and not the other way around. Once they joined the BJP, they stayed. This was for a variety of reasons, but mostly out of fear. So, while leaders still cross from other parties to the BJP, in 2022 there has been a significant stream of important leaders exiting the BJP. This is very telling. It indicates that the BJPs formula of holding leaders, through inducements and fear, has been considerably diminished.

Leaders are now not afraid of the BJPs reaction to them leaving. A O Hirschmans classic book Exit, Voice, and Loyalty, on business organisations, provides a good frame from which to view this new development. One had always wondered since 2014, that while exit (leaving the organisation), voice (protesting against the organisations policies) and loyalty (showing support for the organisation) had been features of all other political parties, in the case of the BJP, the feature most visible was loyalty. One saw this most clearly in the behaviour of MPs from UP. They remained silent during the year-long farmers agitation, during the atrocities against Dalits, etc. They showed no exit, no voice, but only loyalty. In the 2022 elections, this has changed. The BJP has to now contend with the new experience of exit and voice. As a result, it has become like any other party. The habit of exit, voice, and loyalty has now been normalised. Three cheers for Indian democracy.

This column first appeared in the print edition on. February 18, 2022 under the title The churn in UP. The writer is D D Kosambi Visiting Professor, Goa University. Views are personal

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The 2022 polls in UP show deepening of democracy - The Indian Express

[Editors Note: This is the eleventh in a series of articles by Ins San Martn exploring the state of the Catholic Church in Pope Francis home continent of Latin America. The tenth can be found here.]

ROSARIO, Argentina This week, the more than 90 prelates pf the Bishops Conference of Colombia held their first meeting of 2022, and discussed the upcoming presidential elections.

Colombians are living a crucial moment in the history of our nation, says the statement. The serious social problems that persist such as inequality, corruption, the devastating action of drug trafficking, poverty and violence call for the strengthening of our democratic system and a common commitment to the integral development of the entire population.

During the four days of work, the prelates listened to the witness of several of their peers who have confirmed to us the dramatic situations that are being experienced in their regions.

One of them was Bishop Rubn Daro Jaramillo of the port city of Buenaventura, who has received several death threats in recent months for denouncing the increased activity of armed groups in the country.

Various illegal actors (ELN guerrillas, FARC dissidents, clan of the Gulf and others) want to take over the territories, forcing internal migration of populations, Bishop Luis Manuel Al, secretary general of the conference and auxiliary bishop of Bogot, told Crux on Thursday. These groups finance themselves through drug trafficking, micro-trafficking and illegal mining, all of these realities that are increasing.

He said the country is currently the scenario of very complex situations of public order, in many regions including Arauca and Tibu, on the border with Venezuela, where criminal gangs of both countries fight over territories where they want to plant illegal crops.

For this reason, we saw a priority to invite all citizens to commit ourselves to the exercise of democracy; and politicians to exercise leadership motivated by the common good and service to the new generations and the poor, said the prelate, who is also a member of the Vaticans Commission for the Protection of Minors.

Bishop Juan Carlos Cardenas of Pasto, a diocese in western Colombia that has many rural territories also coveted by the armed groups, told Crux that the bishops have repeatedly called for the structural problems that perpetuate the evils that systematically afflict the nation to be addressed.

He also sees a need for political leaders to focus on long-term programs rather than on personal confrontations; to dissociate themselves from the cancer of corruption and to think first and foremost about the best interests of the nation and the common good of all Colombians.

As a counterpart, citizens are called to be responsible while exercising their democratic rights, Cardenas said.

Among the topics being put forth by some presidential candidates are abortion and euthanasia, both permitted in Colombia, but with strong restrictions.

St. Paul reminds us that we must preach in season and out of season, with or without opportunity, Cardenas said when asked about these life issues. Beyond such punctual discussions, there is something more fundamental: The relativization of the value of life.

As pastors we cannot remain silent when this fundamental value is called into question: to defend and care for human life in all its stages and situations, he said. Life from the moment it is conceived, and as it is ending. But we are also called to speak up in defense of the right to life of peasants, of ethnic communities, and the life of a citizen that is taken away during a robbery because of a cell phone or a bicycle.

I believe that we must be unconditional missionaries of the gospel of life, Cardenas said.

The bishops assembly also discussed how the national consultation for the Synod of bishops on synodality will be carried out. The theme for the Feb. 14-18 summit was The journey together of the Church in Colombia, and the meeting was lived in a spirit of synodality, listening to one and other, and discerning what the Spirit is saying to our Church, Ali said.

In addition, several Colombian Catholics took part in Novembers Ecclesial Assembly of Latin America, held in Mexico, and their experiences and conclusions were also shared, particularly those of the laity.

One of our priorities for the next triennium is to insist on the effective leadership of the laity in the particular churches, Ali said. For us, the ministry of the catechist is fundamental in so many areas where we do not have ordained ministers. And of course, the vast majority of our catechists are women.

Cardenas agreed on synodality being the spirit of this assembly, arguing that the local bishops have allowed ourselves to be permeated by the popes call to listen.

Beyond responding to the popes call on this road to the universal synod, it is a good exercise for us to renew our episcopal fraternity and collegiality, he said. In this spirit, we would be better set to lead from the experience and the testimony of a Church in Colombia animated by the spirit of the synod.

Follow Ins San Martn on Twitter:@inesanma

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Ahead of national elections, Colombian bishops call for strengthening democracy - Crux Now