Our gratitude and affection to Arcadi Oliveres, tireless seeker of peace

For Justice and Peace family, Arcadi's death has given rise to mixed feelings, both of sorrow for his death and of deep gratitude for his life.

The trajectory of several diocesan commissions began at his hand: Burgos, Cádiz-Ceuta, Ibiza, Lleida, Tenerife... having encouraged the work of all of them. He represented the General Commission for Justice and Peace for many years, which seem countless to us because of his natural and lucid accompaniment. He first served as vice-president from 1986 to 1999 and continued as president from 1999 to 2003. It was difficult to find someone to replace his dedication, not because he wanted to remain in those positions of service - illness was already beginning to send him warnings to cut back on activism - but because he had set a high bar due to his charisma.

In addition to his enormous commitment for justice and peace and his great respect for all life, we want to thank his closeness and affection for all those who approached him and asked him for a word, a thought or simply to accompany their concerns for freedom and justice.

We cannot forget his brown suede jacket from which he could not be far away, nor the collection of oxymoron words, such as "metal carpentry". We do not intend to cite the countless campaigns in which he has participated because we would never finish but we want to remember his concern for the eradication of hunger and poverty which will continue to be ours.