ISN El Salvador Delegation
4-3-14 Preparation Meeting Notes

  1. How have the Jesuit martyrs impacted your institution?

Chris Napolitano – At Xavier, they celebrate anniversary of the martyrs with a Mass and have crosses of the martyrs outside the chapel so they can keep them in prayer; interest in El Salvador ties back to Oscar Romero, and a book of homilies he had received while on an immersion trip in Mexico. Interest in El Salvador sparked from there

Chris Hayes – Was a JV in the NW when the martyrs were assassinated and the event had a big impact on him; at BC high, there is a continued commitment to honoring the martyrs with crosses in public spaces, times for reflection, etc. Happy to see that it continues in his work at BCHS today

Matt Fitzgibbons—Finds that inspiration of the martyrs and Romero informs what he does in his Spanish 5 class. Throughout the class, he weaves in Catholic Social Teaching, and focuses on War & Peace. He hopes that his students can better understand the roots of conflicts, the effects of armed conflicts, and the Church’s calling for justice. The students are enriched by the witness of the 6 Jesuits

Bill Hobbs—2 years after the Jesuits were martyred in El Salvador, he entered the novitiate. The work and witness of the martyrs had a great impact on his early formation. Second, the experience of taking students down to GA to remember the witness of the Jesuit martyrs, Oscar Romero, the 4 Churchwomen was so unique. We see violence in this country, but we so rarely tie it into faith and justice. It opened their eyes to seeing that there are things worth dying for, and people willing to die for justice.

Susan Haarman—2 large pieces of art on the Loyola Chicago campus; every November, there is a large public lecture tied into the witness of the martyrs and a faith well-lived. Since there are so many Jesuit scholastics at Loyola Chicago, it helps to make connections for students and scholastics, and to link back to the Jesuit’s work in El Salvador.

Jeff Peak—Learned about the martyrs sophomore year at Creighton through a program called the Cortina program. A number of Jesuits studied with Cortina and many of them now at Creighton. Hearing about Cortina’s choice to stay in El Salvador was very impactful, and inspired him to go to GA and have the type of experience which continues to inform the ministry he does today.

Bill Noe—The martyr who has impacted me is Ellacuria, SJ through studying Jon Sobrino, SJ. He learned that he could connect the things he was learning and studying through Sobrino to Ellacuria and El Salvador. He doesn’t know how the martyrs are going to impact the parish, but he will see.

Maura Toomb—Echoing Bill Hobbs and the idea of seeing that there is something that people are willing to die for. Mark the anniversary of the martyrs each year at St. Peter’s Prep, and those who attend the Teach-In have a strong understanding, but knows there is more that could be done. Looking forward to seeing what those things could be when on the trip.

  1. Francisco Mena – History of El Salvador
  2. To understand what happened in El Salvador, you’ve got to look at Colonialism. When Spanish came, they were growing a lot of corn. Corn was no good to the Spanish, they wanted to grow Indigo. They pushed the indigenous populations off their land in southern El Salvador and grew their indigo. Eventually, indigo lost its market share…
  3. Next, the Spanish decided to grow coffee. They pushed the indigenous people away from the mountains to grow coffee. There was great oppression against the indigenous people throughout this time.
  4. While the coffee was being introduced, there was talk of El Salvador fighting for independence. Didn’t work; people continued to be treated very poorly.
  5. Fast forward to 1920, and US interventionism. “When US sneezes, El Salvador gets cold.”
  6. In 1932, there was a big uprising that came from many years of being pushed around in the country; the rich controlled the army, and the army was used as a tool to get things squared away; the uprising wasn’t successful and swiftly addressed with repression
  7. After this, people began to cease teaching their children their traditions and customs, because they saw what happens when someone is identified as an indigenous person.
  8. Around this time, the role of government widely expanded to a dictatorship; Martinez, the dictator, had ties to German Nazis. The Church was also becoming an accomplice to what was happening at the time. They would tell kids that “it was God’s will for them to suffer” etc. With the government and the Church, people began to become numb.
  9. In the 1960s, there was a rebirth of certain sectors of the Church (Vatican 2, etc), and organizing around human dignity.
  10. 1965—attempted coup
  11. Around this time, a progressive Salvadoran wanted to take over a literacy program, but US warned harshly against this, warning that it was too dangerous to teach people how to read
  12. 1970s--One of the first massacres to take place in El Salvador during a peaceful protest by students
  13. 1972—election fraud with Duarte v Molina
  14. 1977—another political fraud; protests, people killed
  15. 1979—coup by some young officers who were trying to prevent the war from coming to El Salvador; coup didn’t go very far
  16. Since the army was being used as a tool by people in power, oppression greatly increased within the next year; 30,000 people were killed even before the war began
  17. 1980—Romero, 4 Churchwomen killed; massacres that killed over 600 people
  18. 1981—war started
  19. 1989—Jesuits killed; up to that point, there had been some negotiations, but the army felt and strongly believed that they could win the war militarily, so they weren’t taking the negotiations seriously
  20. Because there was pressure, they were being challenged to cease the human rights abuses
  21. The deaths of the Jesuit martyrs and Celina and Elba had a big impact on increasing people’s pressure on the government to stop the violence
  22. Their deaths were important, but it was more so their life. Their lives meant a lot to the people of El Salvador, and continue to mean a lot to the people of El Salvador
  1. Doug Marcoullier, SJ – Personal reflection on the Jesuits
  2. All of the Jesuit Provincials traveled to El Salvador last May
  3. Knew the martyrs of El Salvador as teachers and friends
  4. Ellacuria SJ was a remarkable man—clear-headed, quick witted, sharp tongued. He was a theologian, philosopher, and the head of the university. He had particular ideas about the role of a university—it is a space for intellectual ideas, but it also has a social responsibility
  5. “You do theology at a desk, but not from a desk”; he saw the university’s role as understanding the structures that were doing violence to the lives of the poor
  6. Segundo MontesSJ–his nickname was “Zeus”; Montes had been trained as a rural sociologist, and had been a student of the dynamics of communities who had been displaced by the war. However, it wasn’t just the war displacing people, it was emigration to the United States. He studied the impacts of migration on family, community organizing, and cultural change.
  7. Martin Baro SJ—his work had been focused on the impact of violence on children; he and his students formed a public opinion research institute; they would do survey research by polling people in the communities, asking them about what they thought about the war, government, etc. They would publish what they learned, and everyone would read the results, because they were the only one asking working people what they thought
  8. The UCA was (is) a university with strong research, but also a community of discovery. A community to “unmask lies”
  9. Amando Lopez SJ—Theologian; Amando was the kind of person whom everyone found approachable; people who were active in the military movement, the campesinos, etc., everyone felt comfortable to approach him
  10. Elba Ramos SJ—Elba was a wonderful Salvadoran woman. She left school around 13 or 14, and went to one of the coffee places, where she met her husband. The Jesuits were looking for a “house mother” for the students, so Elba took that role. She was warm, funny, can picture her dancing around the kitchen to the oldies station. During an earthquake in San Salvador, Doug traveled with Elba to try to find her family. When he found her, she had her arm around her daughter Celina. When she was killed, she once again had her arm around Celina, trying to protect her. Why werethey killed? Because they were there. It was not a community of discovery. A community of covering up. Why did they die? Because they knew the truth. Because the truth was getting out.
  11. Logistics
  12. Need a passport, and need to make sure you have enough time left on your passport (at least 6 months past the trip)
  13. There’s an expedited process for getting your passport in case you need one on short time
  14. Lodging: group will be staying at the Loyola Center, which is owned by the Jesuits
  15. There is a chapel and some multipurpose rooms we can use
  16. We need to know if we have any vegetarians, dietary needs, etc.
  17. Immunizations: Bring your vaccination records if you’d like
  18. El Salvador doesn’t have malaria—you can get that vaccination if you’d like
  19. Suggest you bring the cream repellant rather than the spray to keep away mosquitos
  20. Packing: it will be hot; it might rain, so bring a light rain jacket; light clothing that is presentable for meetings
  21. Language: there will be interpreters
  22. Safety: they will do everything they can to minimize any risk that could present itself—have hosted all ages of delegations
  23. Money: No need to bring much money; there will be an opportunity to buy souvenirs, but that is about it; all meals will be covered while in El Salvador
  24. Question: What is considered “presentable” dress? Salvadorans don’t dress down regardless of what type of meeting. Jeans with tennis shoes most of the time is okay, as long as it is with a nice t-shirt. No flip flops, no t-shirts or casual shorts. Capris or longer cargo shorts can be okay for women. Just keep in mind that we’re not here for vacation; give the impression that we’re here intentionally for the meetings and presentations.
  25. Question: What are the packing needs for the homestay visits? The homestay will be one night. Suggested you bring a separate, smaller backpack to travel even lighter to the community. There, we will need the repellant the most. Bring a small flashlight with you. Note: some of the places will likely use outhouses, but you don’t need to bring anything extra for that.