Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
opposing the military's scorched-earth campaign throughout the highlands. Many clergy
paid for their beliefs with their lives or were forced into exile. Even after the civil war
ended,BishopJuanGerardiwasmurderedinthedaysafterhisissuanceofascathingreport
on civil war atrocities perpetrated mostly by the military. The church remains a watchdog
anddefenderofthepoor,whichisevidentintheongoingworkoftheArchbishop'sHuman
Rights Office.
Althoughtherearemanychurchesthroughoutthecountry,theCatholicChurchoftenhas
trouble finding priests to fill them, a factor that has contributed to the explosive growth of
Evangelical Christianity. Pope John Paul II visited Guatemala three times during his term
at the helm of the Vatican; the last visit was for the purpose of canonizing Antigua's be-
loved Hermano Pedro de San José Betancur.
Catholicism can still draw a big crowd, though, most noticeably during Holy Week,
with its elaborate processions reenacting Christ's crucifixion, and the annual pilgrimage to
Esquipulas on January 16 to pay homage to the Black Christ in the town's basilica.
Evangelical Christianity
According to some estimates, a third of Guatemala now claims adherence to Protestantism
and, more specifically, Evangelical Christianity. The growth of this sect will become obvi-
ousasyoutravel aroundthecountryandhearthesoundsofloudeveningworshipservices,
known as
cultos,
emanating from numerous churches, particularly in the highlands. The
trend toward Evangelical Christianity dates to the aftermath of the 1975 earthquake, which
destroyed several villages throughout the highlands. International aid agencies, several of
them overtly Christian, rushed in to Guatemala at a time of great need and gained many
grateful converts in the process. During the worst of the civil war violence of the 1980s,
many Guatemalans sought comfort in the belief of a better life despite the hardships of the
present. Other factors making Evangelical Christianity attractive to Guatemalans include
the tendency toward vibrant expressions of faith, spontaneity, and the lack of a hierarchy,
which makes spiritual leaders more accessible to common people.
A notorious legacy of Guatemala's trend toward Protestanism was the dictatorship of
Efraín Ríos Montt, a prominent member of Guatemala City's Iglesia El Verbo (Church of
the Word), who sermonized Guatemalans on subjects including morality, Christian virtues,
andtheevilsofCommunismviaweeklyTVbroadcasts.Meanwhile,ascorched-earthcam-
paignaimedatexterminatingtheguerrillapresenceragedinthehighlands,thoughviolence
in the cities was widely curtailed and order somewhat restored. He faces charges of geno-
cideinaSpanishcourt,thoughit'sdoubtfulhewilleverbebroughttojustice.Alsodisturb-
ing was the brief presidency of Jorge Serrano Elías, another self-proclaimed Evangelical
now exiled in Panama after he dissolved congress in a failed autocoup, which ended in his
ouster a few days later. His government faced widespread corruption charges.
