El Salvador: Catholic Church calls for dialogue following violence in capital city

 The Catholic Church expressed approval of the decision by Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes to extend by one year the presence in the capital of the Armed Forces with responsibility for public safety. The Archbishop of the capital, Bishop José Luis Escobar Alas, said that he agrees with the opinion of the citizens who have accepted the presence of members of the armed forces in public security tasks.

"We know that this is not the aim of the armed forces, but we are in a critical condition, emergency, and this is justifiable. The effort was positive, " said the Archbishop during a May 8 press conference.

Speaking of other issues, Bishop Escobar Alas asked authorities to investigate the damage caused to the National Theatre and to one of the doors of the cathedral by the demonstrators who protested in the early hours of Sunday, May 8. They had been denouncing evictions ordered by San Salvador's Mayor Norman Quijano. The Archbishop of San Salvador said he sees a positive reorganization of the city center, but the method of achieving this should not include violence, but dialogue.