Colombian troops rescued a kidnapped bishop today after a gun battle north of the capital Bogota.
Bishop Jorge Enrique Jimenez, president of Latin American bishops conference, was unharmed, an army spokeswoman said.
The soldiers engaged in a battle with rebels before Bishop Jimenez was rescued, killing one insurgent and capturing another, said Ms Sandra Gomez, spokeswoman for the Colombian army's Fifth Brigade.
The Rev Desiderio Orjuela, who had been kidnapped along with Jimenez on Monday, was also freed. Pope John Paul and other clerics had appealed for the release of the kidnapped priests.
The military blamed the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, for the abductions.
The rebel group holds dozens of kidnapped politicians, including former presidential candidate Ingrid Betancourt and a state governor, as well as soldiers, police and ordinary civilians. AP