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

Book Synopsis

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 book will be made open access within three years of publication thanks to JSTOR's Path to Open pilot.

Review Quotes

Thanks to his deep knowledge of the order and the events of this period, which represents both the apex and nadir of liberation theology in Guatemala, Trinidad has the tools to probe very deeply into the radicalization of Scheut, which has been somewhat overshadowed by the stories of other religious actors-particularly the Jesuits, with whom they were often allied. One of the most vivid elements of this work-which is accessibly written, archivally grounded, and meticulously researched-is the author's reliance on intimate and heartfelt oral histories with his former colleagues and confreres. These interlocutors are willing to speak openly with Trinidad both as a fellow compan~ ero and as a fellow traveler in historical memory. - Virginia Garrard, Hispanic American Historical Review (2025) 105 (4): 780-781, https: //doi.org/10.1215/00182168-11981081

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.