When the Fatherland Demands Truth: A Tribute to Roger and Fabián, and to the Duty of Justice and Love for Our Country

 “Truth shines even in the darkest times. The memory of Roger and Fabián endures like two stars that do not fade.”

🌿 A Call Born from Pain, Faith, and Love for the Fatherland

In times when violence attempts to silence truth and break the spirit of a people, the memory of those who gave their lives for their convictions becomes a profound call to justice. The murder of Roger and Fabián not only wounds their families and those who walked beside them, but also challenges the moral conscience of an entire nation — including those who, even living far from Colombia, continue loving and honoring it with fidelity.

This reflection is born from that pain, but also from the light of faith and Christian teaching, which reminds us that justice and piety are sacred duties toward God, toward our parents, and toward our Fatherland.

⚔️ When Violence Tries to Silence Truth

After this painful event, a question arises that confronts the conscience of all:

What does it mean to seek truth and justice when violence tries to impose itself?

The memory of Roger and Fabián compels us to face this reality and reflect on the moral duty we have toward our Fatherland, toward human dignity, and toward those who can no longer raise their voices.

In the midst of the darkness left by these events, faith reminds us that truth does not die and that justice, even if delayed, always finds its way. Their lives become a testimony that invites us to lift our gaze, to ask for light, and to keep alive the hope of a country reconciled with truth.

They Were Not Numbers — They Were Lives

The names of Roger and Fabián are not statistics or headlines:

they are stories, faces, families, dreams cut short.

Their absence confronts us with the fragility of life and the urgency of defending what gives meaning to our identity as a nation.

The murder of Roger Mauricio Devia and Fabián Cardona, coordinators of the movement Defensores de la Patria in Meta, left a deep wound among those who worked with them. Abelardo de la Espriella described them as “two patriots cowardly murdered by narcoterrorism while carrying the banner of this campaign and the dream of a different Colombia.”

They were men of the people — brave, committed, and unwilling to kneel before violence. Their only “crime” was serving with conviction and refusing to give in to fear.

A Movement That Refuses to Be Silenced

The movement Defensores de la Patria condemned the crime and warned that criminal groups continue threatening those who denounce impunity and abuses. De la Espriella, who has also received threats, affirmed that he will not remain silent and that the spilled blood will not be in vain.

For him — and for many — the sacrifice of Roger and Fabián is a call to move forward with greater character, moral clarity, and determination.

The Teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas

In light of these painful events, the teaching of Saint Thomas Aquinas resounds with force:

Saint Thomas Aquinas places the virtue of patriotism within the virtue of Piety — pietas — a virtue that orders our duties of reverence and honor toward our parents and our Fatherland, as set forth in the Fourth Commandment: “Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God has commanded you, so that you may have a long life and be happy in the land that the Lord your God is giving you” (Deut 5:16).

He teaches that moral rectitude requires recognizing truth, repairing harm, and honoring what is good.

He also teaches that the human person is indebted, after God, to their parents and to their homeland; therefore, just as religion renders worship to God, the virtue of piety calls us to show reverence, gratitude, and service toward those who gave us life and toward our Fatherland.

A Historical Lesson: When Silence Allows Evil to Advance. When a Nation Fails to Resist Evil

History offers us a sobering lesson. After the fall of the Nazi regime, Germany was not judged as a nation of criminals, but it was compelled to confront the moral consequences of having allowed evil to advance through silence, fear, or indifference. The world understood that while not every German was guilty, the State and parts of society bore a collective responsibility for failing to resist in time. This historical example reminds us that when violence, injustice, or terror strike our Fatherland, Colombians cannot remain silent or passive. Silence becomes fertile ground for the very forces that seek to destroy truth, dignity, and the nation itself. To love the Fatherland is to defend it — with courage, with moral clarity, and with the conviction that indifference is never an option.

The Church’s Warning: The Danger of False Political Solutions in Exchange for Apostasy

The Church itself warns us, in its deepest teaching, that before the return of Christ humanity will face a great deception: false solutions that promise redemption at the price of abandoning the truth. The Catechism explains that this deception—anticipated whenever someone tries to build an earthly paradise through purely human or political means—culminates in the pseudo‑messianism of the Antichrist, where man places himself in the place of God. This is why the Church rejects every project that, under the appearance of justice or progress, demands moral or spiritual apostasy. The Kingdom does not arrive through human triumphs, but through God’s final victory over evil. This teaching illuminates our responsibility as Colombians: not to be seduced by false promises, not to remain silent in the face of injustice, and not to surrender our conscience to those who seek to dominate history without God.

The Fatherland We Carry Within Us

That Fatherland — the land that saw us born and grow, that witnessed our triumphs and failures, and that, with silent sorrow, watched many of us depart in search of a better future — remains a spiritual and moral bond that distance cannot break.

From this perspective, love for the Fatherland becomes a duty of justice and gratitude, lived with responsibility, integrity, and fidelity, no matter where we are.

✨ Their Memory Becomes a Seed of Hope

The memory of Roger and Fabián — two men who fought for their convictions — remains alive in those who continue working for a country where violence does not have the final word.

Faith reminds us that no life given for good, truth, or justice is ever lost in vain. The light of God illuminates even the darkest paths, and His mercy sustains those who seek truth with upright hearts.

Their memory becomes a seed of hope that, even sown in tears, can bear fruit in justice, reconciliation, and truth.

 A Responsibility We Cannot Ignore

The death of these two patriots confronts us with a responsibility that cannot be ignored:

justice is not only an ideal — it is a moral duty that demands courage, integrity, and commitment.

As Saint Thomas Aquinas taught, giving each person their due is an act of truth and rectitude, and loving the Fatherland is a form of gratitude toward what shaped us, gave us identity, and continues calling us, even from afar.

Honoring their memory means not giving in to indifference, not becoming accustomed to evil, and not renouncing the dignity owed to every human life.

🙏 Prayer

Lord God of truth and justice, receive Roger and Fabián into Your peace and console their families with Your infinite love. Illuminate Colombia with Your light, strengthen those who work for truth, and grant that justice may prevail over all violence. May Your mercy heal the wounds of our Fatherland, and may Your truth guide our steps. Amen.

🌟 Final Call to Reflection

May this painful event not pass as just another episode in the country’s history, but as a profound reminder of what it means to love truth, defend human dignity, and honor the Fatherland with moral responsibility.

Each of us — whether in Colombia or abroad — can contribute to building a more just, more humane country, faithful to the values that sustain life and coexistence.

The memory of Roger and Fabián invites us not to remain silent, not to give up, and to keep alive the hope of a Colombia reconciled with truth.

May God enlighten Colombia and strengthen those who never tire of seeking the truth. May that Truth, which is Christ, be our guide; justice, our path; and the defense of our homeland and democracy, our commitment.