The Catholic Church and Politics in Nicaragua and Costa Rica PDF
Preview The Catholic Church and Politics in Nicaragua and Costa Rica
THECATHOLICCHURCHAND POLITICS IN NICARAGUAAND COSTARICA The Catholic Church and Politics in Nicaragua and Costa Rica Philip J. Williams paIgrave macmillan * © Philip J. Williams 1989 Softcover reprint of the hardcover lst edition 1989 978-0-333-47128-9 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Totten ham Court Road, london W1T 4LP. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted his right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. Published by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Companies and representatives throughout the world PALGRAVE MACMILLAN is the global academic imprint of the Palgrave Macmillan division of St. Martin's Press, LLC and of Palgrave Macmillan Ltd. Macmillan® is a registered trademark in the United States, United Kingdom and other countries. Palgrave is a registered trademark in the European Union and other countries. ISBN 978-1-349-10390-4 ISBN 978-1-349-10388-1 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-349-10388-1 This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. · .. We see the growing gap between rich and poor as a scandal and a contradiction to Christian existence. The luxury ofafew becomes an insult to the wretched poverty of the vast masses. This is contrary to the plan of the Creator and to the honour that is duehim. Third General Conference of Latin American Bishops Puebla, Mexico 27January-I3February 1979 Table ofContents Page Acknowledgements \11 Abbreviations viii Maps \\ 1 Introduction I ANINSTITUTIONAL APPROACH TOTHECHURCH 5 HISTORICALMODELSOFTHECHURCH 8 STRUCTUREOFTHEBOOK 10 2 TheCatholicHierarchyinNicaragua: OriginsandEvolution 13 HISTORICALBACKGROUND 13 ColonialPeriod 13 Post-Independence 14 TheEstadoLiberalandUS Intervention 16 Relationswith theDictator 18 TheDoubleThreat 20 FROMCONSERVATIVETOREFORMIST CHURCH 22 AppointmentofObandoasArchbishop 26 TheEarthquake 29 Repressionon theRise 32 TheOctoberOffensiveandthe Assassination ofChamorro 33 TheBeginningoftheEnd 36 CONCLUSIONS 39 3 AttemptstoBuildaGrassrootsChurch inNicaragua 43 ALTERNATIVEPASTORALSTRATEGIES 43 TheGrowthofCEBsin Managua 44 VIII Contents Rural PastoralStrategies 48 Conclusion 52 NEWCHALLENGES 54 TheMembershipDrain 54 TheIdentityCrisis 56 TheCounter-offensive 58 Conclusion 62 4 TheCatholicChurchinthe NicaraguanRevolution 65 DIFFERINGRESPONSESTOTHEREVOLUTIONARYPROCESS 65 DirectParticipation 68 ActiveCollaboration 70 PassiveCollaboration 72 PassiveOpposition 73 ActiveOpposition 75 Conclusion 77 THEFSLN AND THECATHOLICCHURCH 79 FromMutualDistrustto PracticalCollaboration 79 TheFSLN Documenton Religion 82 TheConflictBetween the FSLN andthe CatholicHierarchy 83 Conclusion 88 THEHIERARCHYINOPPOSITIONTO THE REVOLUTION 88 5 TheEvolutionoftheCatholicChurch inCostaRica 97 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND 97 ColonialOrigins 97 Independence 98 ANewDiocese 99 The LiberalReforms 101 UnionCatolica 102 TheConsolidationofChurch-StateRelations 104 TheCommunistThreat lOS Jorge Volioandthe PartidoReformista 106 MONS.SANABRIA AND THE ORIGINSOF A REFORMISTCHURCH 107 TheSocialChristianPoliticalProject 108 The UnlikelyAlliance III Contents ix AReformistChurchinthe Making? 114 TheCivilWar 116 Conclusion 119 6 The Costa RicanHierarchy andthe Reformist Project 121 THE LONG PERIODOFSILENCE 121 BreakingwithSanabria 122 Moreofthe Same 125 TheChurch'sSocial Pastoral UnderRodriguez 129 An Exception to the Rule? 132 THE SILENCE ISBROKEN 134 TheBishopsAdoptaNew Rhetoric 136 TheBishops' New RhetoricandSolutionstotheCrisis 139 The BishopsSpeak 143 Conclusion 145 7 Efforts toTransformthe Church inCosta Rica 147 EARLYATTEMPTS TOTRANSFORM THE CHURCH 147 EcoCatolico 147 Confrontationswith the Hierarchy lSI EIGrupo EcumenicoExodo 153 WORKING WITHINTHE STRUCTURESOFTHECHURCH 155 ITAC ISS Alternative PastoralStrategies 157 Caritasand CECODERS 160 CONCLUSIONS 164 8 Conclusions 169 HISTORICALDEVELOPMENTOFTHETWOCHURCHES 170 EFFORTSTO TRANSFORMTHECHURCHIN NICARAGUA AND COSTARICA 174 THE IMPACTOF NATIONAL POLITICALFACTORS VERSUSEXTERNALINFLUENCES 177 Notes 183 Bibliography 207 Index 223 Acknowledgements I would like to thank especially Alan Angell. for his invaluable commentsand advice throughout the writingof this book. Thanksalso go to LaurenceWhitehead. David Browningand Robert Pring-Millfor their continuing encouragement and support. and to Alexander Wilde for his critique of sections on Nicaragua. In addition. I am most grateful to the Carlos de Sola Wright Memorial Fund. which made possiblemyfieldwork. In Nicaragua, I wish to thank staff at the Instituto Historico, the Archivo Nacional, the Central de Servicios Multiples and the Centro Antonio Valdivieso, for providing me with easy access to research materials. I would also like to express my appreciation to Knut and Mely Walter. who helped me through the bestand worstoftimes. In Costa Rica, I am grateful to the Biblioteca Nacional and the Archivo de la Curia, and particularly to JavierSolis,Orlando Navarro. Guillermo Melendez and Rosa Maria Pochet, who gave me so many insightsinto the realidadCostarricense, In both countries. r owe special gratitude to the many clergy and priests who granted me interviews (and, in a number of instances, a spare bed!), as well as the countless numberof Nicaraguansand Costa Ricans who shared with me their thoughts and their struggles - it was with them in mind that thisbookwaswritten. My deepest thanks go to my parents. for their unending love and supportthroughout mytimeat Oxford. PJ.W. Abbreviations ACLEN AssociationofNicaraguanClergy ADEM AsociaciondeDirectoresdeEnseiian:a Media AE AsociaciondeEmpresariosPro-Jus/idaSocialy Pa: ANC AccionNacional Conservadora ANFE Asociacion NacionaldeFomento Economico ARDE AlianzaRevolucionariaDemocratica ASE AsociacionSolidaristadeEmpleados ATC Asociacionde TrahajadoresdelCampo BANAMERICA Bancode America BANIC BancodeNicaragua CACM CentralAmerican Common Market CAY CentroAntonio Valdivieso CCTRN ConfederacionCostarricensedeTrabajadoresRerum Novarum CDN Coordinadora DemocraticaNicaragiiense CDS Comitede DefensaSandinista CEB ComunidadEclesialdeBase CECODERS Centro Coordinador de Evangelizacion y Realidad Social CECOR ConferenciaEpiscopaldeCostaRica CELAM ConsejoEpiscopalLatinoamericano CEN ConferenciaEpiscopaldeNicaragua CEPA CentrodeEducacionyPromocion Agraria CEPN CentroparaelEstudiodelos ProblemasNacionales CGT ConfederacionGeneralde Trahajo CGTC Confederacion General de Trabajadores Costarricenses COCC Confederacion de Obreros y Campesinos Cristianos Costarricenses CODESA Corporacion CostarricensedeDesarrollo CON Coalicion OpositoraNacional CONFER NationalConferenceofReligious COPROSA Comisionde PromocionSocialArquidiocesana COSEP ConsejoSuperiordeEmpresaPrivada
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