The Disappeared: A New Challenge to Christian Faith in Latin America

Abstract

This chapter deals with the phenomenon of forced or involuntary disappearances in Latin America and the Caribbean, with particular reference to the response to this human drama of Christians and the Catholic Church in particular. The reality of the disappeared is one of the most poignant challenges to Christian faith that we face in today’s world. Let me begin with a testimony from Guatemala describing a typical case of forced disappearance which I received over six years ago while visiting Ecuador. I was staying with the local superior of the Divine Word Missionaries, Father Neil Doogan from Donegal. Knowing of my work in the area of human rights, he commented that recently some women religious had arrived from Guatemala. They had to leave because one of their community had been disappeared some weeks previously. It was arranged that I visit their novitiate some distance outside Quito. In the secluded atmosphere of a traditional convent the sisters recalled the events of the fateful night. Their convent was on the outskirts of Esquipulas, a town in southern Guatemala very close to El Salvador and Honduras, and home to the most important religious shrine of Central America. Late at night the community was awakened by loud banging on the front door. The superior finally went to attend, but the men outside, one of whom was masked, demanded to see Sister Victoria de la Roca Aldana, an old Guatemalan nun who was having treatment for cancer. It was not very difficult for them to force their way in and they began to search the dormitories. Sister Victoria was dragged out of her bed and forced outside. The gang members tied the other sisters with sheets and bedclothes and bolted the door. They then sprinkled the hallway with petrol and set the place ablaze. Fortunately, the mother superior had slipped out earlier to follow the kidnappers and was pleading with them to release Sister Victoria. When she saw the convent on fire, she returned immediately to unlock the door and free the other nuns. All then struggled to put out the flames. As they were doing so they heard the sound of motors starting. Sister Victoria was taken away and never heard of again.