Nicaragua-A Church Divided
Nearly two years into the Nicaraguan revolutionary process, the Church continues to be an arena of conflict between the country's social forces. While most sectors, including the Church,...
...Of the discrepancy be- tween the armed struggle and Chris- tian doctrine, Sanjines says: "As a Christian and a priest, I never had any doubts about joining the Frente Sandinista and taking up arms in defense of the poor...
...She recently made a film on the Church in Nicaragua, "Thank God and the Revolution...
...In Esteli, known for its radical diocese, clergy and nuns organized clandestine street com- mittees, supplying arms and com- batants, as well as giving refuge, passing messages and distributing food during the insurrection...
...In the countryside, peasants were also organized into Christian communities, served by lay minis- ters drawn from their ranks...
...But once again, the hierarchy had to back down, failing to enforce the conditions of the ultimatum...
...47update update update update "If the priests holding public office and exercising partisan functions do not give up these responsibilities, in order to take up their specific priestly ministry," threatened the letter, "we will consider them in an attitude of open rebellion and formal disobedience liable to the sanctions of Church laws...
...Monsignor Obando y Bravo, in a recently published article in the conservative Managua daily, La Prensa, accuses them of willfully MaylJune 1981 criticizing the hierarchy while "hypocritically" appealing for church unity...
...The statement marks a turning point for both Christians and Marxists throughout the world...
...This consciousness proved a prerequisite for cooperation with the Frente during the guerrillas' entrenchment in the countryside...
...Cleagy Join Armed Struggle Many priests became radicalized by direct engagement between faith and social conditions...
...The virtues of stoicism, benign suffering and ability to forgive all were replaced by those of an active defense of the poor, a love expressed by commitment to and solidarity with the cause of the poor...
...Eleven years later, at the Puebla Conference of Bishops, the principle was reinforced by the official proclamation of the Church's "preferential option for the poor...
...From the late 1960s, Christians became a dynamic force within the liberation movement, both ideologically and organizationally...
...The unreserved commitment and energetic activity of its grassroots communities is evidence that the new Nicaragua provides fertile terrain for Christian values...
...They have, however, recently become in- creasingly critical of the Frente's socialist program...
...While the revolution seeks a united church carrying out its mission in a spirit of communion with the political and ideological climate, a divided church can only serve imperialist interests as the hierarchy dissociates itself from its base, legitimizing the opposition's counterrevolutionary stand...
...And the potency of the Christian cham- pioning of the poor, as a rallying cry for grassroots Christians, reinforces the hierarchy's fear that control is slipping out of their hands...
...In preparation for the shelling of major cities, civil- ians were threatened with arrest if they appeared on the street...
...They prevented Obando y Bravo from speaking at Puebla in March 1979 to raise support for his harrowed country, and after the Sandinista victory, devised a plan of "aid" to Nicaragua, including an exhortation to pray for its salvation from totalitarianism...
...The group's integration into the community and commitment to its problems generated an ad- vanced degree of politicization, manifested in hunger strikes and church occupations demanding the release of political prisoners...
...The project has been denounced by the bour- geois opposition as a subterfuge to undermine the nuclear family by "forcing" (in spite of the declared voluntary character of the scheme) NACLA Reportupdate * update . update * update children to spend part of their school holidays in government sponsored activities...
...In the early 1970s, a group of Christian students set up a com- munity in a poor Managua neighborhood, Riguero, based upon the twin principles of socialism and Chris- tianity...
...That the Church hierarchy, with CELAM (Conference of Latin American Bishops) as its ideologue, should find a community of interests with the bourgeois "democratic" opposition is hardly surprising...
...The nuns were reinstated while the priests must leave when their assignments are completed...
...The bishops of Nicaragua issued a document in early June 1979 condoning the armed struggle, based on what they called a "just war theory...
...Members of the clergy joined the Frente, including internationally ac- claimed poet, Ernesto Cardenal, now Minister of Culture...
...They also wrote to President Carter asking him to cease military aid to the Somoza regime, a measure which helped isolate the dictator...
...For many, any remaining qualms about armed struggle were resolved by the bombings of September 1978...
...Our experience shows that when convinced Christians are able to respond to the needs of the people and of history, their beliefs lead them to revolutionary militancy," the Frente announced, spelling out the common ground shared by Christianity and Marxism...
...The hierarchy's efforts to maintain the traditional power structure by bringing grassroots Christian organizations into line and challenging radical clergy, throws into relief the polarity of class interests encompassed by the Church...
...and Edgar Parrales, Minister of Social Welfare-to choose between Church and politics...
...They have demonstrated that belief in this union overrides their allegiance to a traditional church...
...Acknowledging the support that this decision received from various Christian groups, Archbishop Obando y Bravo said, "One must sadly admit that the Nicaraguan Church is divided...
...Gospel teachings were interpreted in light of the daily experiences of an oppressed people...
...The hierarchy's efforts to assert authority culminated in the ultimatum issued to the three priests in government - Ernesto Cardenal, Minister of Culture...
...All attempts at mediation with Somoza in hopes of mitigating the suffering had failed...
...The bishops insisted their decision was based on a desire to "strengthen religious unity" and was in no way politically motivated...
...For many traditional clergy, the desire to eradicate poverty is based in paternalism and charity, sentiments incompatible with the mass mobilization for structural change and self-determination taking place in Nicaragua...
...In November 1979 they issued a document pro- claiming their "Christian commit- ment to the new Nicaragua," applauding measures leading to better living standards for the destitute and linking the gospel to the reigning spirit of solidarity with the poor...
...Within two days the priests responded...
...Since a popular church has become an organized force in the continent, CELAM has become the reactionary counterbalance...
...The replacement of mass subjection to autocratic rule by mobilization around a materialist idea transcending personalities and rituals is, by its very nature, threat- ening to a traditionalist church...
...They joined the other mass organizationsstreet defense committees, peas0, 0, 0, Co MaylJune 1981 45update * update . update * update ant, womens' and student bodies-- as mainstays of the guerrilla move- ment...
...Such tactics on the part of the conservative bishops are clearly aimed at disarming the grassroots communities...
...Although of marked significance to a religious people, the late appear- ance of the document, at the begin- ning of the final insurrection, indi- cated the hierarchy's begrudging support for the liberation movement...
...After community protests, the hierarchy backed down, at least in part...
...But if the Church hierarchy spurns its popular base, obeying the interests of imperialism, it will not only isolate itself, but will also condemn itself to being an agent of alienation and abstraction, rather than a source of humanitarian values shared by the whole community...
...The ultimatum was part of a strategy aimed at thwarting the power of the progressive Church...
...At a meeting at the end of January, the priests and bishops agreed to refer the matter to the Vatican which is expected to approve the priests' continued participation in government...
...Expulsion from the priesthood was the penalty for the latter...
...In other words, obey or face estrangement...
...This capitulation to the progressive forces within the Church is an implicit recognition of the support which they command in the population...
...The impetus provided by this option for the poor manifested itself throughout Latin America...
...The bish- ops emphasized that violence is in- stitutionalized in the third world and in using violence to do away with vio- lence, the good outweighed the bad...
...By various means, the bishops have expressed their discontent about Nicaragua's development...
...Priests and nuns in San Judas, a Managua neighborhood noted for its radical Christian community, were given notice by the bishops of their transferral to other countries...
...Social issues, such as the need for health facilities and education, became their focus...
...Traditional elements within the Church share the fear that this work study program augurs the transfer of parental authority to the state...
...Nicaraguan Christianity For members of grassroots communities who have both participated in the insurrection and in the process of reconstruction there is no doubt as to the compatibility of Christianity and Sandinismo...
...Although the bishops' appeal was not accompanied by strategy for action against the ruling class, for many believers it sanctioned the struggle for change...
...This incorporation of faith into the liberation struggle must be considered in light of the 1968 Bishops' Conference in Medellin which denounced the unjust distribution of wealth and victimization of the masses...
...Jackie Reiter works with a Nicaraguan filmmaking collective, Tercer Cine...
...As well as acquainting schoolgoers with working conditions, the plan rein- forces the contact between workers and students established during the 1980 literacy campaign...
...Grassroots Christian organizations sprang up in poor neighborhoods and peasant lay preachers were appointed in the countryside...
...One of the few who sur- vived is the Spaniard, Antono San- jines who fought alongside Gaspar Garcia Laviana, a priest also of Spanish origin who was killed in combat...
...Recently, CELAM, acting through the Nicaraguan bishops, has taken more serious measures...
...The Frente's statement on religion (October 7, 1980) reflects the unique breadth of the Nicaraguan revolution which embraces the Church as an integral part of the new society...
...Called Escuela Campo (work study), the scheme is designed to introduce school children to productive work in industry or agriculture for short periods...
...As a spiritual and moral guide, it leaves no grounds for vacillation...
...But the threat of a divided church is a dangerous one...
...In 1977, priests and nuns, mainly of the Capuchin order, wrote to Somoza denouncing the disappearance and murder of 350 peasants in the Atlantic region...
...The Latin American Church's predominant identification with concentrations of wealth is legion, and Nicaragua has been no exception...
...Editorial note: At press time, it appears the bishops have decided to force a confrontation with the popular Church...
...Last October, the bishops laid down an ultimatum to the three priests with government posts, attempting to force them to choose between the Church and politics...
...The concept of the kingdom of God, hitherto reserved for an afterlife where the poor would be rewarded and the rich punished, shifted to life on earth where, by means of structural changes, justice and equality for all would be safeguarded...
...Luis Carrion and other members of the group later became leading FSLN representatives...
...The bishops called for a society where the poor were not objects but agents of history, a radical transformation which had as its corollary an alternative interpretation of Christian love...
...A predominantly Catholic and devout people, the Nicaraguans' fight against tyranny took sustenance from their faith...
...Monsignor Obando y Bravo, Archbishop of Managua and a figure associated with the forces 4' seeking an alternative to the dicta- torship, acted as a mediator be- tween the Frente and Somoza...
...Others took up arms in defense of the people...
...Third, violence may only be used as a last resort when non- violent means have failed...
...Opposition to the Frente's politi- cal program has taken the form of public criticism by the hierarchy, along with some sectors of the bou r- geoisie, of a new educational scheme...
...Houses, full of men, women and children were easy targets for Somoza's flying death squads...
...The Church's requirements-as laid out at Puebla and reiterated by Nicaraguan bishops in their postvictory document-for freedom to carry out their evangelical mission, to practice and teach their faith and its moral imperatives, have been guaranteed...
...Second, the lead- ers must have just intentions or goals leading to a more humane society, and not seek power to their own ends...
...In early June they issued a Pastoral Letter ordering the priests in government to vacate their posts "as soon as possible...
...Grassroots Activism In Nicaragua, this radicalization of Christian practice was an essential prelude to the struggle against Somoza and the National Guard...
...Bishops Join Bourgeoisie In the absence of a bishop of the stature of the late Archbishop Romero of El Salvador, the Nicara- guan Church hierarchy has, since the victory, adopted an at best cautious and at worst hostile at- titude to the revolution...
...Starting with the dismissal of Father Ortiz of Leon for alleged neglect of his flock, a campaign has been unleashed to remove progressive clergy from their posts...
...The deadline, December 31, 1980, went by with no response by either side...
...In a joint communique they reaffirmed their commitment to the revolution and rejected the order: ". In accord with our beliefs we have endeavored to serve our compatriots in the posts they designated and will continue doing so in whatever place our presence and service is necessary...
...In it, the vital contribulion of Christians to the fight for liberation and the construction of a revolutionary society is acknowledged...
...While most sectors, including the Church, were united in the struggle against Somoza, the Church hierarchy has become less cooperative in the face of the Sandinista government's clear commitment to true social revolution...
...The peasants' political consciousness was nurtured by the emphasis on a social interpretation of the gospel as well as the lay priests' participation in the peasant organization that was later to become the Rural Workers Association (ATC...
...Miguel d'Escoto, Foreign Minister...
...First, war may be declared by an authority which is truly repre- sentative of the majority and not just of an elite group...
...This challenge to the Church is an historic and transcendent one...
Vol. 15 • May 1981 • No. 3
