Concerning statement I read in a Testimony

[Ben_Sinner]

Hi

So for class I have been giving an assignment and have to write a paper on a book/testimony.

The testimony is called Don’t Be Afraid Gringo which translates a testimony of a Honduras campesino named Elvia Alvarado.

Elvia Alvarado is a Catholic woman.

On one chapter of the book she discusses how the poor in Honduras have not been given the land they were promised by the government. The rich take over that land so the campesinos have to fight to retain it since they need that land for farming to feed their family. They have virtually nothing and the rich have basically been stealing from them.

The discourse around the community is it is considered communism to join with the campesnos. The priests are usually “rich” there and distort the gospel there to make themeselves rich. They then tell the people to accept their role as peasants, which keeps them poor and the rich priests comfortable.

On page 33 of the book, Elvia says:
**
“These priests that side with the poor have to be careful nowadays. They really can’t say what they think any more; because the other priests listen carefully to everything they say. The big bishops and that Pope in Rome, they don’t let these priests say what they want. And the best priests are persecuted by the military. They’re accused of being communists and Marxists.”**

This bothers me. Could it be true that the church and Pope JPII (at the time) were behind this conspiracy to keep the campesinos down?

I don’t consider Elvia anti-catholic, she actually is very devoted to her Catholic faith (although her faith is a bit distorted), but at her core she is a decent, religous person with alot of intelligence who tells it like it is. She is also not in a position of power at all and risked death in order to let this book be published. I don’t think she has a motive.

It hurts to hear this regarding the church, especially a great saint like JPII. It was definitely a shocker and made me feel like maybe there is something I didn’t know before about the church and it isn’t pretty.

Anyway, has anybody read this? Is there a deeper context that maybe Elvia was unaware of at the time? I’m just hoping that she was either lied too or maybe she was just ignorant to what was truly going on.

 

[Cricket2]

I would not be surprised that there are members of the Church who would be part of an effort to keep the poor stuck where they are. This does not have to mean it is system wide, but it would be foolish to think that there are not individuals within the Church that use their position for self gain. It is part of our sinful nature.

 

[Bonnie]

Political labels get used often. Helder Camara, earlier archbishop of Brazil (he died in 1999), said: “When I opened places for poor people to eat, you called me the 'Holy Bishop of Brazil.” Then one day I ask, why are there so many poor people in Brazil? And you call me a communist."

Priests and bishops, being flawed humans as we all are, are as capable of upholding the status quo as they are of defending the downtrodden.

 

[Ben_Sinner]

I think its the “…and that Pope from Rome” part that bothers me the most. Pope JPII was recently canonized and to think he was potentially a part of the oppression, torture, and murder of campesinos in Hondorus doesn’t sit well with me…

I’m not saying he is not a saint or accusing him of doing this, but I just find it disturbing that its a possibility and sounds so covered up.

Hopefully he never took part in this and if he did, he obviously repented of it later in life, hence his canonization.

 

[AMFV]

I think its the “…and that Pope from Rome” part that bothers me the most. Pope JPII was recently canonized and to think he was potentially a part of the oppression, torture, and murder of campesinos in Hondorus doesn’t sit well with me…

I’m not saying he is not a saint or accusing him of doing this, but I just find it disturbing that its a possibility and sounds so covered up.

Hopefully he never took part in this and if he did, he obviously repented of it later in life, hence his canonization.

Well I haven’t read the book. But she doesn’t seem to be making a direct allegation against the Pope, at least not based on any real information. It’s kind of a general statement that the Church has corruption in that region. Which is particularly for that time period hardly news. I doubt the Pope was complicit in anything like that, and I imagine it would be very difficult to show it.

It is a rough thing for the Church, because they have to support the poor, but alienating the political leaders, as abhorrent as they may be, can result in all of their aid being cut off, so sometimes being aggressive and speaking plainly is not always wise, because it can be more damaging to those you are trying to help. But it’s a rough issue, and it is because of our sinful world.

 

[Robert_Filmer]

This bothers me. Could it be true that the church and Pope JPII (at the time) were behind this conspiracy to keep the campesinos down?

Although you haven’t discussed the theology, I’m guessing she believes in liberation theology, which is essentially a fusion of Catholicism and left-wing economics. Communism, socialism, et cetera. It’s been partially condemned by the Vatican, and is particularly popular in Latin America.

And the best priests are persecuted by the military. They’re accused of being communists and Marxists."

And a significant number of them actually were. And are.

 

[Robert_Filmer]

Lots of people want the Catholic church to promote their politics. Often they’ll do this, by saying that the church is suppressing true Christian ideas, to suit the bad guys.

If someone is a political ideologue, you should, as a rule, not trust what they say about a religion. Inevitably, the want all religion to endorse their politics.

 

[RosyAnne]

Careful here. Although it is possible that there is a corrupt priest or two in the mix, keep in mind that propaganda efforts to indoctrinate even the very faithful are always at work in the background. She may genuinely perceive this as truth but it’s absolutely not.

The Communist/Marxist/Socialist/Leftist is very adept at making people believe what they want them to believe. Masters of deception with skills that have been honed through generations. They are also very patient and are willing to drop seeds of falsity and deception that they know will not bear fruit for decades.

I haven’t done much digging on this (yet) but I’ve come across mentions of this malevolent undercurrent stirring decades before the French Revolution (and instigating it). That’s how far back this goes. It’s very interesting stuff!