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Central America in center of storm

06 Jun 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In this Sunday's reading from the Book of Genesis, Melchizedek says that Abram is blessed by "the creator of heaven and earth." Both the heavens and the earth opened up in Central America this week as tropical storm Agatha's torrential downpours led to mud slides, collapsing bridges, buried homes, giant sinkholes, and the death of at least 178 people. Guatemala was especially hard hit by the storm earlier this week. Dozens of people were still missing and rescue teams struggled to reach remote rural communities after the storm cut off roads and destroyed major vehicle bridges and dozens of smaller footbridges. "We're trying to get to the communities but we're finding that bridges are down and we have to walk, so it is taking so much longer," said firefighter Rony Veliz. Giant sinkholes in Guatemala City created death traps on streets, swallowing entire buildings and blocking off major roads. At least 152 people were killed in Guatemala and 100 others are missing, according to the government. Twelve people were killed in El Salvador and 14 in Honduras. Some 35,000 people remained in emergency shelters days after Agatha, the first named storm of the 2010 Pacific hurricane season, dumped more than three feet of rain in places and raised concerns over the coffee crop in Guatemala and El Salvador. Central America is vulnerable to heavy rains because of its mountainous terrain, and poor communications in rural areas hamper rescue efforts. Hurricane Ida killed at least 150 people as it pounded through the region in November. Source: Articles by BBC News and Herbert Hernandez Reuters

rain central america guatemala tropical storm agatha
Guatemalan church’s prince of peace dies

10 Jun 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

This Sunday’s solemnity is all about sacrifice and commitment of the deepest order, sealed in blood. Guatemalan Roman Catholic Cardinal Rodolfo Quezada, who sacrificed much through his commitment to peacemaking and an end to the nation's long and bloody civil war, died on Monday at age 80.Guatemalan President Otto Perez declared three days of national mourning and ordered flags to fly at half-mast as a mark of respect for Quezada. “He was a great fighter for peace and reconciliation in Guatemala,” said Perez, who this year became the first military man to assume the presidency in Guatemala since the war ended.Quezada lent his negotiating skills to two organizations that tried to reconcile the bitter adversaries in the war, one of the most destructive to ravage Latin America. Starting his work at the head of the Commission for National Reconciliation in 1987, he also later chaired the Assembly of Civil Society, whose efforts helped bring about a peace accord in 1996—36 years after the conflict began.The war pitted leftist guerrillas against the state and led to the death or disappearance of a quarter of a million people. A United Nations-backed "truth commission" found that the vast majority of abuses were committed by the army, which ruled Guatemala for most of the civil war. Quezada's colleague in the peace process, Bishop Juan Gerardi, was murdered in 1998 shortly after the publication of church-backed findings on abuses in the civil war. Source: An article by David Alire Garcia for Reuters

guatemala civil war commission for national reconciliation assembly of civil society juan gerardi otto perez rodolfo quezada
Long overdue justice for Guatemalan victims

10 Jan 2016 - Preaching the News for Sunday

The first reading from Isaiah 42 promises that the servant of the Lord “shall bring forth justice to the nations.” Guatemala on Wednesday brought 14 ex-military officials to justice for forced disappearances and crimes against humanity during the bloodiest period of its 36-year civil war. Over the past decade, the Central American country has begun prosecuting crimes from its civil war past, including massacres of women and children. Guatemala's 1960-1996 civil war pitted a succession of right-wing governments against leftist insurgents and led to nearly a quarter-million deaths. A U.N.-backed truth commission said the armed forces carried out more than 80 percent of human rights abuses during the conflict. Homily hint: Catholic churches and missionaries were in the front lines as witnesses to the terrible violence of the Guatemalan conflict. Many lay and religious missionaries and church workers lost their lives serving and defending the poor and marginalized during the long years of war. The church of the poor inspired and formed the values of our current pope, born and bred in Latin America. Be equally inspired, and pray for those who work and risk their lives for justice. For more on the Guatemalan justice effort, see: Guatemala arrests 14 former officials for war-era crimes

Peace Justice guatemala missionaries