Honduran Jesuits on the crisis

National Apostolic Council

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Institutions of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) of Honduras

“Blessed are you when people hate you, when they expel you and insult you, and come to call you delinquents on account of the Son of Man” (Lucas 6, 22).

Given the critical situation and deterioration suffered by the Honduran population and the loss of legitimacy that the various institutions of the State now experience, the apostolic works entrusted to the Jesuits of Honduras, now express our concern


1.- We deplore the serious social and political crisis experienced by the Honduran population as a result of the historic violation of fundamental rights, the deterioration of the rule of law, and as a result of the erratic and corrupt practices of politicians and decision-makers in the public 

administration.


2.- We stand in solidarity with the victims of systematic repression by the various armed and security forces in their mandate to repress the social protests led by various sectors of the population demanding justice, respect for their fundamental rights that are violated, and to reject the government policies of concessions and privatizations of common goods and public services. This indiscriminate repression has left dozens of people injured and the murder of some citizens, including: Luis Antonio Maldonado; Erick Francisco Peralta and the teenager Eblin Noel Corea. We extend our sympathy in solidarity to their families and our commitment coming from our faith to remain faithful to the search for justice.


3.- We warn, call attention to and denounce the high risk to which the Honduran population are exposed when they take to the streets to exercise their right to peaceful protest when the National Council for Defense and Security, under the command of Mr. Juan Orlando Hernández, authorizes and sends the military and police forces to indiscriminately repress the protests of a population that demands justice, respect for the rule of law and the constitutionality of the country. This was most evident in the violation of university autonomy, when a squadron of the military police broke into the University City facilities, leaving at least four students injured ...


4.- There has been a propaganda campaign filled with lies and manipulation to discredit defenders of human and environmental rights. The elaboration of profiles of people identified as leaders of the protests has the intention to criminalizing them and sets the context to justify repressive actions and judicial procedures against these profiled persons. The list of profiles includes Fr. Ismael Moreno (Melo), director of the Reflection, Research and Communication Team and Radio Progreso (ERIC-RP); and Leonel George and Juan López, delegates of the Word of God of the San Isidro Labrador de Tocoa Parish, who are falsely accused of leading an armed gang that confront the police and other accusations that only seek to discredit their struggle for social justice, and to create conditions that would justify actions against them.


5.- We highlight and subscribe to the last message of the Episcopal Conference of Honduras (CEH), based on an analysis, reflection and prayer concerning the roots and consequences of the current crisis in Honduras. Any effort to "correct the path of Honduras" must go through the "rescue of ethical values" and overcome the "moral decadence in which the country is falling." The country yearns for a just society in solidarity with just laws, "in accordance with the dignity of the human person and seeking the common good". The country must be able to dialogue when it has the confidence in the institutionality of the state, with a healthy political ethic and the truth as a search and starting point. It cannot be a society that militarizes security and state institutions.


6.- We fully adopt the call of the Episcopal Conference of Honduras (CEH) "We want to make a call to the whole society so that, from the reality in which each person and each group lives, we consider the need to join the search for ways to solve these problems in Honduras. This can come through accords, agreements, reforms, platforms, a plebiscite or a referendum, or citizens' initiative laws, etc. Let us become aware that a change is possible to improve this reality and the commitment to achieve it in solidarity."

National Apostolic Council
Institutions of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) of Honduras

June 26, 2019

(translation by Phil Little)

[posted with permission of the translator]

Spanish original found here.

Bishops' Lenten message 2018

The Honduran Bishops Conference issued a Lenten message for 2018. The original can be found at the end of the document which is my translation.

Catholic Bishops Conference of Honduras

Lent: Path of conversion

As we conclude the ordinary meeting of the [Honduran] Bishops Conference, we, the bishops of Honduras, wish to share with the People of God the fruit of our reflection and, at the same time, call them to live the path of Lent with renewed faithfulness to the Lord.

Following Jesus in his path toward Easter, Lent offers us the opportunity to renew our mind and our attitudes, guided by the values which moved Jesus to fulfill his Mission of offering salvation to all humanity.

The Lord Jesus invites us to be converted to the Truth; he himself came to the world to be the witness to the Truth, as he affirmed before Pilate, adding: “Everyone who belongs to the truth hears my voice” (John 18:37). Conversion to Truth means accepting that only in the Lord is the full truth; to accept that none of us possess it completely; and that in others there is part of the Truth. That conversion moves us to accept that by means of dialogue we can gain access to new horizons of mutual understanding.

Lent is a path of conversion to social justice, by which we go forward constructing the Reign of God and which demands that society and the state struggle against corruption and impunity and reject every violation of Human Rights, especially the right to life. We unite ourselves to the complaint/protest [reclamo] of the people of Honduras for the more than 30 victims killed in the protest demonstrations caused by the present political crisis, which is justly added to so many complaints/protests [reclamos] for the negligence and lack of will of the state's justice system to fulfill its obligations.

Lent is, above all, a way of conversion to the love that is Charity, which makes us see the neighbor as brother [or sister], to love enemies and pray for those who persecute us, as Jesus says in Matthew 6:44. Conversion to Charity puts us in solidarity [nos hace solidarios] with the necessities of the poor and the pain of the families of all the victims of violence. Charity which also converts us into builders of a new society, for “It is love which builds up” (1 Corinthians 8:2). And it is about building a future where Charity gets in the way of/blocks [impida] the increase of evil. Or, as Jesus says and which Pope Francis recognizes in his Lenten message for this year, “As evil grows, love gets cold in most all the people” (Matthew 24: 12).

This is a warning which we ought to take seriously and that should move us to respond to the questions which Pope Francis gives us: “How is charity growing cold in us? What are the signs that show us that love runs the risk of being turned off in us?” Among the many serious effects which we can recognize when love grows cold, Pope Francis considers the ecological crisis. Therefore he affirms in Laudato si’, number 217: “The ecological crisis is a call to a profound interior conversion.”  That is to say, we also need an ecological conversion to save the planet. Therefore, the care of our common home will be a priority theme for reflection in the pastoral life of our Church this year.

We ask our Lord that the Lenten path may be full of blessings and enriching experiences and that the traditional Lenten practices of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving will serve us not only to prevent [impedir] our love growing cold but also to inflame it [our love] with the passion [ardor] which lets us produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit which is “charity, joy, peace, understanding of others, generosity, kindliness, faithfulness, meekness, and self-control” (Galatians 5: 22-23a).

May Mary, Our Lady of Suyapa, who every year continues to inflame the hearts full of love [for her] of all those who gather to venerate her, accompany us also in the Lenten journey so that we may be, with her, at the foot of the Cross, when it is needed.

Tegucigalpa, 9 February 2018

[Catholic] Bishops Conference of Honduras

[Conferencia Episcopal de Honduras]

Honduran Bishops' open letter, January 15, 2018

Honduras Bishops Conference

OPEN LETTER TO MISTERS JUAN ORLANDO HERNÁNDEZ AND SALVADOR NASRALLA

Respected citizens:

It is our commitment, as pastors (shepherds) of the Catholic Church, to promote dialogue and peace on behalf of the common good. We believe in the value of dialogue and, as Church, we want to accept the recent call at the national level. For this to be valid (worthwhile), it ought to include two important characteristics: (1) that it be “sincere, effective, creative, without conditions, and involve all sectors of society,” as we affirmed in our communiqué od December 20, 2017; and (2) that it have palpable objectives to resolve fundamental matters, which can be achieved in the short term, with concrete commitments to fulfill them by the political actors of our country.

The post-election situation of Honduras, categorized as a political crisis, is known at the national level and is the cause of international concern. In the face of this recognized situation, we cannot no ought we prolong a crisis which paralyzes the country and which does not bring about profound changes in the heart of the society. The way out is an inclusive dialogue, with the presence of representatives of all sectors of society and a dialogue by means of an analysis of all the challenges which urgently needed to be responded to, for the purpose of overcoming the current crisis which has broken out [been unchained] since the elections of last November 26.

The absence of dialogue between the two of you deepens the political crisis in the country, which will make unfeasible the great dialogue which the population supports and hopes for. If, in the short term, real, rational, and altruistic agreements aren’t achieved, the violence will escalate, there wlll be more military and political repression, and the number of fatalities [dead victims] will increase; the country’s economy will be paralyzed, poverty will increase, the population will be even more divided, which could lead to a situation of ungovernability.

Because of all this, respectfully and earnestly [from our hearts], we ask you to sit down to talk to find ways out of this situation full of anxieties, or that you accept arbitration mediated by one of the institutions of which Honduras is a member, to facilitate a political dialogue which is sincere and without conditions, which reconciles [conciliates] positions without political advantages for anyone, for the purpose of arriving at decisions which better benefit all the society. If you do this, you will be giving an authentic [good faith] demonstration of love for Honduras.

We believe that this means would make possible the necessary and urgent dialogue which all of us hope for.

We ask the Lord to illumine your minds and soften your hearts so that you can find paths toward the reconciliation which ur country needs.

Tegucigalpa, January 15, 2018

Attentively,

The Honduran Bishops Conference