Episcopalian Killed in El Salvador
Episcopal News Service. October 23, 1980 [80374]
SAN SALVADOR, El Salvador -- Archibald Dunn, South African Ambassador to this Central American country and a prominent member of the Episcopal Church, was assassinated here by a guerrilla group named Popular Forces of Liberation, the governing Junta has announced.
The 69-year-old diplomat was kidnapped on November 28 of last year as he was leaving his embassy in the center of the city.
The late Roman Catholic Archbishop of San Salvador, Oscar Romero, pleaded for his release on several occasions during his famous Sunday homilies, but his words were never heard. The ambassador was suffering from diabetes and was almost blind at the time of his capture.
In a separate announcement, the guerrilla group said that the ailing diplomat was executed because the government of South Africa did not pay the ransom asked for his release.
Ambassador Dunn was a member of the vestry of St. John's Church, the local Episcopal parish where he and his wife, Daphne, worshipped regularly.
In a memorial service at St. John's Church, the Rev. Luis Serrano told the diminishing English-speaking congregation that "violence is not the path of love" and that Christians "always love and forgive." He also condemned violence as a means of solving the social problems of the country.
A few weeks ago, the diocesan convention of El Salvador passed a resolution condemning violence and asking the prayers of the whole Anglican Communion for "our suffering nation."
In New York, the Rt. Rev. G. Edward Haynsworth, acting Bishop of El Salvador and Partnership Officer for Latin America at the Episcopal Church Center, deplored the assasination and described Ambassador Dunn as "a humble and honest man who was always ready to help those in need. "
It is estimated that at least 9,000 persons have been killed since the beginning of the year in the armed struggle that is shaking El Salvador.