Latin America

The history of Maryknoll in Latin America is rich and deep. Our commitment to the promotion of social justice and peace in the region cost several of our missioners their lives during the years of oppression, including Fr. Bill Woods, MM in Guatemala (1976), and Sisters Ita Ford, MM, Maura Clarke, MM and Carla Piete, MM in El Salvador in 1980. Some, like Fr. Miguel D’Escoto in Nicaragua, have served in public roles in support of those who live in poverty. Countless others have accompanied the Central American people in their daily struggles for survival, for social justice, for an end to the violence that destroys their communities; for new life.

Among the particular concerns of Maryknoll in Latin America are poverty, its causes and consequences; migration and refugees; health care, especially holistic care that includes good nutrition and preventative care; access to essential medicines for treatable or curable illness; HIV and AIDS; the rights and dignity of women and children; the response of authorities to the growth in gang violence; mining concessions; just trade agreements; debt cancellation; small and subsistence farming and other work accessible to people who are poor; and environmental destruction.

Second Sunday of Advent

Second Sunday of Advent

This reflection was originally published in the 2024 Advent Reflection Guide: One Family of God. A voice of one crying out in the desert: Prepare the way of the Lord, make straight God’s paths… Isaiah 40:3 A voice of one crying out in the desert… What is the prophet Isaiah trying to say to his…

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe

In the midst of a history of suffering, Saint Oscar Romero lived and shared with the poor his unshakeable faith in the Lord of Life, the hope of seeing in El Salvador the Christian reality of new heavens and a new earth, and a charity not simply announced, but embodied in the fate of the…

Human Rights Award for Activists in Gaza and Guatemala

Human Rights Award for Activists in Gaza and Guatemala

The 2024 Letelier-Moffit Human Rights Awards were given to Rabbis for Ceasefire and the Institute for Middle East Understanding (IMEU), and the Concejo de Autoridades de 48 Cantones de Totonicapán of Guatemala; and a slain former awardee was honored. The following article was published in the November-December 2024 issue of NewsNotes. The Institute for Policy…

Reflection on Solidarity with the People of Honduras

Reflection on Solidarity with the People of Honduras

Sarah Bueter, Maryknoll Lay Missioner in El Salvador, reflects on the murder of Honduran environmental defender Juan Lopez and her recent visit to his grieving community of Tocoa as part of an emergency delegation organized by the SHARE Foundation. The following article was published in the November-December 2024 issue of NewsNotes. It was only when…

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Thirtieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

There are several key themes in today’s Gospel that speak to the “signs of our times” and give us, in Jesus, an example of how we are to respond. Mark tells us of the crowd that was traveling with Jesus, and that Jesus “stood still” at the cry of Bartimaeus, a blind man. The scriptures…

Solidarity with the Community of Tocoa, Honduras, in the wake of the murder of Juan López

Solidarity with the Community of Tocoa, Honduras, in the wake of the murder of Juan López

Sarah Bueter, a Maryknoll lay missioner in El Salvador, reflects on the murder of Honduran environmental defender Juan Lopez and her recent visit to his grieving community of Tocoa as part of an emergency delegation organized by the SHARE Foundation. 27 September 2024 It was only when I saw his photo up on the wall,…

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Maryknoll OGC Joins Letter to Secretary Blinken Expressing Concerns Over the Police Mission in Haiti

Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns joined a group of 18 faith and human rights organizations in a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken outlining areas of concern with the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti, specifically: that it support the development of Haitian democracy and autonomy; that it clearly state a priority for the protection of Haitian lives; and that there be concrete, public mechanisms for accountability.

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JCoR HLPF Lab – Ending Poverty featuring DHUMA

José Bayardo Chata, Maryknoll mission partner at Derechos Humanos y Medio Ambiente (DHUMA) in Puno, Peru, tells of the progress that is needed to meet the first goal of the SDG’s–the eradication of poverty, in all its forms, everywhere.

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Venezuelan Election: A View From Within

Wednesday, August 7, 2024 Protest and repression have erupted in Venezuela following President Maduro’s pronouncement of victory for which official results are yet to be released. The Venezuelan opposition claims that their candidate doubled Maduro’s votes. Latin America is on edge as a new wave of migration appears imminent in the face of violent crack…