Missionaries and Resistance in Guatemala - (Leuven Studies in Mission and Modernity) by Mario Trinidad (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Catholic missionaries in the revolutionary movements of the 1970s and 1980s in Guatemala.

In Guatemala, the 36-year armed conflict from 1960 to 1996 claimed 200,000 lives, over two per cent of the population, and displaced a million more. In the 1970s and the 1980s the widespread and violent repression of social movements fighting for justice and human rights reached unimaginable proportions, involving assassinations, disappearances, and exile. Even parts of the Church, traditionally considered an ally of the powerful and the wealthy, were not spared this fate.

Missionaries and Resistance in Guatemala chronicles the involvement of certain Catholic missionaries in popular and revolutionary movements. Based primarily on their own accounts, it narrates their gradual progression from conservative theological and pastoral practices to radical positions, informed by their solidarity with the poor and a theology of liberation. Their stories are situated in a wider geopolitical and ecclesial context.

This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

This book will be made open access within three years of publication thanks to Path to Open, a program developed in partnership between JSTOR, the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), University of Michigan Press, and The University of North Carolina Press to bring about equitable access and impact for the entire scholarly community, including authors, researchers, libraries, and university presses around the world. Learn more at https: //about.jstor.org/path-to-open/

Review Quotes

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

About the Author

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.