Maryknoll Catholic Mission in Peru, 1943-1989

Susan Fitzpatrick-Behrens

Description

Maryknoll Catholic missionaries from the United States settled in Peru in 1943 believing they could save a "backward" Catholic Church from poverty, a scarcity of clergy, and the threat of communism. Instead, the missionaries found themselves transformed: within twenty-five years, they had become vocal critics of United States foreign policy and key supporters of liberation theology, the preferential option for the poor, and intercultural Catholicism.

In The Maryknoll Catholic Mission in Peru, 1943-1989, Susan Fitzpatrick-Behrens explains this transformation and Maryknoll's influence in Peru and the United States by placing it in the context of a transnational encounter Catholics with shared faith but distinct practices and beliefs. Peru received among the greatest number of foreign Catholic missionaries who settled in Latin America during the Cold War. It was at the heart of liberation theology and progressive Catholicism, the center of a radical reformist experiment initiated by a progressive military dictatorship, and the site of a devastating civil war promoted by the Maoist Shining Path. Maryknoll participated in all these developments, making Peru a perfect site for understanding Catholic missions, the role of religion in the modern world, and relations between Latin America and the United States.

This book is based on two years of research conducted in Peru, where Fitzpatrick-Behrens examined national and regional archives, conducted extensive interviews with Maryknoll clergy who continued to work in the country, and engaged in participant observation in the Aymara indigenous community of Cutini Capilla. Her findings contest assumptions about secularization and the decline of public religion by demonstrating that religion continues to play a key role in social, political, and economic development.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Missions
• Christian Ministry
• HISTORY
• Histoire
• Perú
• Minister (Christianity)
• Cold War
• Politics of Peru
• Latin America
• Catholic
• Central America
• Christianity
• SS Central America
• Guerre froide
• Peru

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 30 novembre 2011
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268079703
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 4 Mo

Extrait

Fitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page i
The Maryknoll Catholic Mission in Peru,
1943–1989Fitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page ii
RECENT T I TLES FROM THE HELEN KELLO GG INST I T U TE
FOR INTERNAT IONAL ST UDIES
Scott Mainwaring, series editor
The University of Notre Dame Press gratefully thanks the Helen Kellogg Institute for
International Studies for its support in the publication of titles in this series.
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For a complete list of titles from the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies,
see http://www.undpress.nd.eduFitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page iii
the MARYKNOLL
CATHOLIC MISSION
in PERU, 1943–1989
Transnational Faith and Transformation
SUSAN FITZPATRICK-BEHRENS
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, IndianaFitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page iv
Copyright © 2012 by University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Fitzpatrick-Behrens, Susan.
The Maryknoll Catholic mission in Peru, 1943–1989: transnational faith
and transformation / by Susan Fitzpatrick-Behrens.
p. cm. — (From the Helen Kellogg Institute for International Studies)
Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-02905-0 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-268-02905-9 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Catholic Foreign Mission Society of America—Missions—Peru—
History—20th century. 2. Liberation theology—Peru—History—
20th century. 3. Peru—Church history—20th century. I. Title.
BV2853.P6F58 2011
266'.285— dc23
2011036542
∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence
and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines
for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.Fitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page v
Peace is above all the work of justice.
CELAM, Medellín, 1968Fitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page viFitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page vii
CONTENTS
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction 1
ONE Maryknoll and the New Deal for Latin America 19
TWO First Impressions: Maryknoll Priests and the People
of Puno, 1943–1953 47
THREE The Transformative Power of Tradition, 1954–1967 81
FOUR The Limits of Alliances, 1968–1976 145
FIVE Reform, Violence, and “Reconciliation,” 1976–1989 205
Epilogue 231
Appendix: Foreign-Controlled and Progressive
Dioceses in Peru 240
Notes 244
Selected Bibliography 284
Index 300Fitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page viiiFitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page ix
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has taken a long time and benefited from the help of many people.
The project began when I was a graduate student at the University of
California, San Diego (UCSD), where Eric Van Young was an
outstanding mentor. His knowledge and critiques made me push the
boundaries of a narrowly focused study by encouraging me to
contextualize Maryknoll’s experience in Peru in an examination of the
missionaries’ U.S. origins. Richard Madsen inspired me and reminded me
that I should try to tell a good story. George Lipsitz introduced me
to the history of American culture and ethnicity and the Great
Depression’s defining role in immigrants’ lives. Michael Bernstein, Dain
Borges, Christine Hunefeldt, Misha Kokotovic, and Ken Serbin
provided insights and critiques.
I was fortunate to be part of an outstanding cohort of graduate
students at UCSD, who became interlocutors and friends. A writing
group with Eric Boime, Christina Jimenez, Alberto Loza, Luis
Murillo, Javier Villa Flores, and Greg Rodriguez introduced me to new
literature and broadened the scope of my research. Roderick Ferguson,
Gabriela Soto-Laveaga, Adam Warren, Sarah Shrank, Tamera Marko,
and Angela Vergara helped in different ways during the years that this
project was “in process.” Special thanks to my close friend, Christina
Jimenez, who listened to me work through ideas and struggled with
me as I wrote.
Maryknoll Catholic missionaries made this work possible in every
way. Despite uncertainty about my research and conclusions,
Maryknoll as an institution and its current and former missionaries shared
time, knowledge, and documentation with me. Sister Mary Grace
ixFitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page x
x Acknowledgments
Krieger, director of the Maryknoll mission archive in 1995 when I
started the research, literally opened the sisters’ home to me. She
arranged for me to stay at the convent, introducing me to convent culture
and to some of the extraordinary women of Maryknoll. Sister Mary
Grace’s example and friendship remain among the nicest benefits I have
received through my research. Father William D. McCarthy,
Maryknoll historian and missioner to Peru, was among the first people with
whom Sister Mary Grace put me in contact. Father McCarthy shared
enthusiasm, a breadth of knowledge, extensive documentation, and
mission interviews. I am saddened by his passing but will remember his
generosity and quiet sense of humor. Ellen Pierce, current director of
the Maryknoll archive, and Jennifer Halloran, photo archivist, have
responded immediately to my questions and been consistently helpful.
Maryknoll missionaries also opened their centers in Peru to me,
sometimes giving me a place to stay. Many clergy and lay missionaries
shared with me their mission ideals, their first experiences, and their
current outlook. Fathers Robert Hoffman, Michael Briggs, Curt
Cadorette, Charlie Cappel, Raymond Finch, Steve Judd, James Madden,
and Gerard McCrane and Sisters Rose Dominic, Rose Timothy,
Patricia Ryan, and Aurelia Atencio provided special insights into
Maryknoll in Peru. Inocente Salazar, a former missionary, generously shared
with me his unpublished manuscript describing his mission in Puno.
Lay missionaries Deidre Savino and Ed Mauer provided friendship
and support.
Diego Irarrázaval of the Instituto de Estudios Aymaras (IDEA)
granted access to the institute’s extensive collection of work on Puno.
Irarrázaval also arranged for me to study Aymara at IDEA with
Santiago Mendoza and Juan Mejilla, who graciously shared their
knowledge of language, culture, and local politics with me. Juan Mejilla
allowed me to rent his home in the Aymara community of Cutini Capilla.
Although it is not described in this book, my experience in Cutini
Capilla defined my interpretation of my interviews and archival
materials. It also led me to reinterpret my life. I will always be grateful to this
community for allowing me to stay with them for a time and for
introducing me to some of the beauty and pain of life in the Andes.
In Lima, studies at the Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú
introduced me to scholarship by Peruvian intellectuals. Jeffrey Klaiber,Fitzpatrick-00FM_Layout 1 10/13/11 9:01 PM Page xi
Acknowledgments xi
S.J., introduced me to Universidad Antonio Ruiz de Montoya, where a
small supportive staff granted me access to a wealth of sources about
the Catholic Church in Peru. Catalina Romero de Iguiñiz shared her
time and extensive knowledge of the Catholic Church and its
contribution to promoting social justice in Peru. Manuel Glave introduced
me to the extensive literature by Peruvian scholars on Andean
peasants. Finally, the Instituto de Estudios Peruanos (IEP), where I was an
affiliated researcher, provided insight into Peru’s vibrant intellectual
community and access to an extensive library. María Laura Vargas
Valcárcel, director of CEAS, took time to speak with me, greatly
enhancing my understanding of the Catholic Church’s role in promoting
human rights in Peru during the years of the violence. I am also
grateful for the assistance of archivists at the Ministerio de Relaciones
Exteriores, the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú, the Biblioteca Municipal
de Puno, the Archivo del Obispo de Puno, the Archivo del Obispo de
Juli, and the Archivo Eclesiástico del Perú.
A postdoctoral fellowship through the Rockefeller Religion in the
Americas program at the University of Florida, Gainesville, introduced
me to an emerging field of studies on religion in the Americas. The
opportunity to work with Milagros Peña, Anna L. Peterson, Manuel
Vasquez, and Philip J. Williams was especially important in the
development of this work. A number of colleagues I met in Gainesville
became friends who influenced my research long after my fellowship term
ended. Marixa Lasso de Paulis, Antoinette T. Jackson, and Christine
Kovic have all contributed in different ways to my perspective on Latin
America and religion. Christine Kovic