Latin America and the Catholic Church

Case Study: Latin America and the Catholic Church

Pope John Paul II’s visit to Nicaragua, in 1983, during the Nicaraguan Revolution was seen as a polarizing event. There were quite a few expectations that Pope John Paul II’s words would quell the tensions that were brewing between the Nicaraguan Catholic Hierarchy & the Nicaraguan Church and the Sandinista Government. The ideology behind the Revolution was filled with Marxist values; these values were against religion. The Church condemned this revolution because of that, as they felt threatened.

As it was stated earlier, both sides anticipated The Pope’s arrival, to give validation to their respective sides. The Hierarchy expected John Paul to give legitimacy in their efforts to contest growing communism in the Sandinista Government. Conversely, the Government wished for the Pope to offer support for a peace process by acting as an intermediary. When The Pope came to Nicaragua on a pastoral visit, he made his stance on the issue clear: The Vatican supported the Hierarchy’s cause. He did not make a single mention of words for peace for the revolutionaries. Pope John Paul II mentioned the importance of Church unification as the best way to prevent Nicaragua from being corrupted by communism. He also spoke out against the growing division within the Church between the "popular church" and the institutional hierarchical Church. One of the last important points from his speech was that he advocated the authority of the Bishops, and the importance of religious education.

Unfortunately for both sides, his visit did not really help things in the overall bigger picture. It only exacerbated the tensions between the sides. Some of the Catholics who were for the reformation were disappointed in The Pope’s speech. The prime example being, the day before John Paul II’s visit to Managua, a memorial service was held to honor the lives of 17 Sandinista