Missionaries and Resistance in Guatemala

Mario Trinidad was a member of the Congregation of the Immaculate Heart of Mary and served in Guatemala in the 1970s. He now resides in Australia and is a retired social worker and university lecturer.

• AcknowledgementsIntroductionTengo una deuda con el pasadoI owe the past a debtAbrupt end of my first missionary experienceFrom la tierra de la eterna primavera to la tierra de la eterna tiraníaMethodology and sourcesChapter 1Pensábamos que estábamos preparadosWe thought we were preparedGuatemala, the first years of a new mission‘Direct’ and ‘indirect apostolate’We thought we were prepared for missionary workThe first months in GuatemalaFirst impressionsInternal division in the face of external divisionUniversal ecclesial and geopolitical developmentsInternal division among Scheutists Sources of division among Scheutists in GuatemalaChapter 2No fue capricho, ni locura, ni gran equivocaciónNot a whim, madness, nor a big mistakeFirst assignmentsTraditional ideals, traditional pastoral methods, and traditional alliesCall for reformStudies at CIDOC and other Latin American InstitutesThree interrelated initiativesStudy, planning and evaluation dayPopular materialsLinks with popular organizationsChapter 3En el camino la gente nos concientizóOn the journey the people conscientized usLinking everyday life with big structures through relationshipsThe missionaries and the guerrillasMissionaries who joined the guerrillasThree events before May 1, 1980ConclusionChapter 4Al fin sufren ahora la misma suerte que la de su pueblo humilladoFinally they suffer the same fate as their crushed peopleMechanisms of terrorMartyrdom: cosmic conflict between good and evilConrado de la Cruz (July 27, 1946 – May 1, 1980)Walter Voordeckers (September 2, 1939 – May 12, 1980)Congregational responseJust the beginningThe assassination of Scheutists continuesConclusionFue realmente una página de historiaIt was truly a page out of historyEpilogueAbbreviationsBibliographyIllustration creditsIndex of persons

Das Buch stellt einen wichtigen Beitrag zur Erinnerung an diese –wie an zahlreiche andere –Opfer der Gewalt in Guatemala dar. Es bezieht sich häufig auf offizielle Dokumente der Erinnerung und Aufarbeitung dieser Jahre und stellt die Bezüge zur kirchlichen und pastoralen Arbeit her. Dadurch entwickelt es auch eine große kirchenhistorische Bedeutung für die Rekonstruktion dieser konfliktiven Phase der Entwicklung der Kirche in Lateinamerika, speziell in Guatemala, und der Bedeutung europäischer (und anderer) Ordensangehöriger in dieser Zeit. - Stefan Silber, Theologische Revue 121 (Juli 2025), DOI: https://doi.org/10.17879/thrv-2025-8782