Guatemalan church workers tell of political, economic problems

WILMINGTON, Del. (CNS) -- Four representatives of a Guatemalan diocese told Wilmington Catholics of the economic hardships and political precariousness of their Central American country.

One layman, Alfonso Lopez, recounted how he and other catechists work at whatever job they can find by day to support their families, then in the late afternoon and evening walk from village to village for prayer services and to prepare children and adults to receive the sacraments.

All four expressed concern that a former dictator may win the presidential election in November, raising the specter of a return to major violence and human rights violations.

The four -- a priest and three laymen -- were in the Wilmington Diocese for 10 days in mid-October to discuss how Wilmington Catholics can help the people of the Guatemalan Diocese of San Marcos.

The visit resulted from a solidarity agreement signed last spring by Wilmington Bishop Michael A. Saltarelli and San Marcos Bishop Alvaro Ramazzini Imeri pledging the two dioceses to a partnership in spiritual, political and material development.

As reported by The Dialog, Wilmington diocesan newspaper, the San Marcos Catholics, at local parish and church group meetings, discussed their country's problems.

The Guatemalans' conversations always included the political situation. They expressed fear that the country is reverting to the violent era that characterized the decades-long civil war that came to an end in 1996.

The immediate worry, they said, is the possible return to power of Efrain Rios Montt, an ex-general who took over in a 1982 coup and was himself ousted in a 1983 coup.

"We are really worried," said Lopez, one of the catechists serving San Marcos' small rural villages. "If these people come back, we will be going back to where we were -- group killings and massacres."

The United Nations Wire, an independent daily that reports on U.N. activities, said peace is threatened by the re-emergence of Rios Montt, an evangelical Protestant.

Rios Montt's tenure, said the daily, was "probably the most violent period of the 36-year internal conflict which resulted in about 200,000 deaths, mostly of unarmed indigenous civilians."

Another visitor from San Marcos, Father Toribio Pineda, went to Washington with Father John Hynes of St. Catherine of Siena Parish in Wilmington for a meeting with Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., ranking minority member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

They asked for his help in getting the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala and other agencies to monitor the human rights and economic situations.

In Wilmington, Lopez described the work of catechists like himself.

When a group of six to 12 people is ready for a sacrament, Lopez said, he notifies the priest in charge of that parish, which includes many villages and thousands of Catholics. The priest then visits to administer the rites.

Bishop Ramazzini believes catechists must also attend to physical needs, Lopez said, so they try to arrange for food to be brought in or for someone to be taken to a center for health care.

In making their rounds, Lopez said, catechists try to educate the people about the coming election and the danger of voting for Rios Montt, but in so doing, they put their lives in danger. Guatemala, he said, is "a country where people who speak out are dead people."

Another catechist, Adalverto Ramirez, works primarily on the large coffee plantations. He said catechists are called "to be prophets, and prophets announce and denounce. That's exactly what we are doing. It takes a lot out of us. I have a family, I have children and I have to be able to work and support my family."

Victor Lopez, former head of youth ministry for the San Marcos Diocese, now coordinates a project to preserve the historical events of the civil war by recording the stories of individuals.

"Bishop Ramazzini is an activist, a radical voice, passionate. He will never be made a cardinal," he said, alluding to several attempts that have been made on the bishop's life. "He has a vision of the world -- he believes that his people will be safer the more the world watches them."

San Marcos has roughly 1,500 catechists. About 20 percent are women who usually work with children or, along with a male partner, prepare couples for marriage. The Diocese of San Marcos has only 28 priests for more than 655,000 Catholics, many in tiny villages across an area the size of Tennessee.

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Copyright (c) 2003 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops