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.
In a statement of solidarity with the people of Honduras, Maryknoll OGC joined ten other U.S. civil society groups in denouncing the assassination of two water rights activists and further called for the protection of other environmental activists in the region.
Sr. Dee Smith, Maryknoll Sister in Guatemala, reflects on gospel righteousness: Let your ‘Yes’ mean ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No’ mean ‘No.’
Mr. President, we ask you to immediately suspend U.S. security assistance to Peru until the violent repression ends and human rights violations are addressed.
Sign a Petition to the U.S. State Department
What happened in the city of Juliaca and Puno can only be described as one of the worst massacres that have occurred in our country in recent years. We reiterate that it is not up to the National Police of Peru or the Peruvian Armed Forces to resolve the conflicts that have been taking place. It is the duty of the central government and the Congress of the Republic to find a realistic, nonviolent solution within a reasonable time that will restore tranquility and peace to the country.
With the new policies announced by President Biden, the right to seek asylum at ports of entry continues to shrink to the point of illusion.
Maryknoll Lay Missioner Joanne Blaney sees profound connections in her restorative-justice work – from São Paulo to the Amazon and other regions of Brazil.
Susan Gunn of the Maryknoll Office for Global Concerns, wrote this reflection on the visit of the LCWR-SHARE Foundation delegation to the communities in El Salvador where the churchwomen were martyred in 1980. The following article was published in the January-February 2023 issue of NewsNotes. On December 1st, the community of Chalatenango, inspired by the…
A group of Bolivian academics, journalists, and former government officials, concerned about the state of democracy in Bolivia after the 2019 elections and the subsequent ouster of then-President Evo Morales, has produced a new book, Los 40 años del 10 de octubre – Memorias de nuestra democracia (The 40 Years Since the 10th of October: Memories of Our Democracy).
Several dozen Peruvians have lost their lives and hundreds have been injured in the unrest following a rapid succession of power shifts at the presidential level at the end of 2022. This article previously appeared on our website in late December and is presented here with a January update.
As of this morning 26 people have been killed in the country during the protests of the last week (some only teenagers). We are hoping that there be no further loss of life and that the government listen to the people.
For Human Rights Day, tell Congress not to include military aid to El Salvador in the 2023 Budget
On December 10, we commemorate Human Rights Day. Our focus this year is on the state of El Salvador, which has seen some remarkable improvements rolled back by a new form of government oppression.
Corruption has affected all branches of the Guatemalan government to the effect that Indigenous leaders and human rights activists, journalists, and honest judges and prosecutors are threatened, jailed, or forcibly removed from their land.
We need a world that effectively promotes human rights, that includes cultures, spiritualities, ancestral justice and that does not uproot individuals and peoples, especially young people.
Debbie Northern, a Maryknoll lay missioner in El Paso, Texas, reflects on the Christian call to seek justice for all who are oppressed.
Now is the moment to hold CBP and other law enforcement in the United States accountable, and point to the reforms that will open a new chapter, one where human rights and life are paramount and protected at all times for all people.
Maryknoll Brother John Blazo reflects on lessons learned as a missioner being with people in need in Guatemala and Nicaragua.
