Guerrilla defector seems to bolster the Guatemalan government’s claims.
The following report from correspondent Stephen R. Sywulka in Guatemala generally coincides with the government version of events in the case. Roman Catholic sources take vigorous exception to his conclusions, insisting that Pellecer’s kidnapping could not have been prearranged since he was bleeding and unconscious when abducted, that the government denied all knowledge of his whereabouts over the months that followed, that he showed signs of brainwashing in his few stage-managed appearances, and that he is still a prisoner.
It hit like a bomb blast, sending shock waves rolling through the social and ecclesiastical structure of Guatemala. At a surprise news conference called by the government amid strict security measures, Jesuit priest Luis Eduardo Pellecer Faena admitted he had served actively with the Guerrilla Army of the Poor (EGP), and asked forgiveness from the people of Guatemala.
Pellecer, 35, spoke with reporters, government officials, and diplomats for over two hours, recounting the steps that first led him to join the EGP, and then to his disillusionment and escape through a simulated kidnapping. “I ask your forgiveness, a thousand times forgiveness,” he said.
“I contributed to subversive actions which have sown violence in this country.”
It came as no surprise that members of the Catholic clergy have sympathized with the guerrillas. Pellecer charged that the Jesuits as a whole, members of several other orders, some prestigious schools, and the Catholic relief agency, Caritas, were implicated with the subversives. The priest singled out the theology of liberation as a major factor, saying it presented a new Jesus, a revolutionary rebel who opposed the capitalist system; a Jesus for the poor only, sent by God to establish a new kingdom on earth. “This kingdom which we Jesuits preach is a kingdom equivalent to socialism,” said Pellecer. “To arrive there, we obviously need to obtain power.” And power, he said, would be gained by hatred of the rich.
Along with the liberation theology was a strong Marxist orientation. Pellecer claimed that all the Jesuits “of my generation” were heavily exposed to Marxism-Leninism during the course of their studies.
He also said that in a meeting two years ago, the Jesuit order put first priority on work among the poorest levels of society. “It was decided that we should contribute toward the radicalization of Jesus for the poor,” he said. “We were able to get in with the people and give them the proper dose of Marxism appropriate to their low cultural and political level.”
Sent first to El Salvador to work with a catechist group known as “Delegates of the Word of God,” Pellecer and his companions taught the peasants that they should defend themselves against the “oppressive” landowners and organize “self-defense committees.” “We handed these groups over to [the guerrillas] on a silver platter,” he said.
Transferred to Nicaragua, the young priest helped organize cooperatives that served to channel funds to the Sandinistas, who were then struggling against the Somoza regime.
Sent to his native Guatemala in 1977, Pellecer began working with an urban organization to “consciencitize” the inhabitants of slum and squatter settlements. He also served as adviser to the Belgian School, a well-known Catholic institution for girls, for their “Operation Uspantan.” In this program, upper level students were sent for one to two months during vacation to five with peasant families in Quiche province.
All of these efforts, explained Pellecer, were part of a first stage designed to raise the level of consciousness. It was understood that this was preparation for a “second story” that would involve political and/or military action.
Impressed by his work, the EGP approached the priest in the summer of 1978. At that time, he did not want to join, he said, partly because he was planning to marry a Nicaraguan girl. But the marriage fell through, and in late 1979 Pellecer sent word through his contact, an ex-Jesuit, that he was available.
Pellecer emphasized that he was a “sympathizer,” not a “militant.” As such, he kept on with his regular job in Guatemala City and did not have or use weapons. His specific assignment was with the “National Propaganda Commission,” an attempt by the four main guerrilla organizations in Guatemala to coordinate publicity, especially outside the country, against the government and its security forces. The priest claimed that much of the bad press, which the governments of Guatemala and El Salvador suffer around the world, was directly due to the church and that the Jesuits had a direct line to Amnesty International.
Pellecer’s disenchantment with the guerrillas came as he began to realize that it was impossible to separate theory and practice, and that the Marxist practice was producing violence and suffering. When he was pressured to undergo military training and take up arms, he decided to pull out of the EGP. The problem was how to do it. Through a friend, he contacted the security forces and a fake kidnapping was arranged. It took place on June 8. Four months later, he reappeared at the press conference.
The priest insisted that he had been treated well and was telling his story voluntarily, though he predicted some people would claim he was talking under coercion. In fact, the archbishops of Panama and El Salvador reacted immediately to the news by saying Pellecer had been drugged and tortured, and by demanding his “release.” But observers in Guatemala noted that his presentation was unusually lucid and straightforward and he showed no signs of drugs.
Reporters were able to meet with Pellecer several times subsequent to the news conference, but otherwise he remained in seclusion. A government spokesman said that although he was being protected for his own safety within Guatemala, he was free to leave the country at any time.
Questioned by reporters, Pellecer said he estimated that 15 to 20 priests in Guatemala were collaborating with the subversives, including “all the Jesuits of my generation,” some Maryknollers, some from other orders, and a few seculars. There are currently 42 Jesuits in Guatemala. Only three are native born; the rest are Spanish. One of Pellecer’s most startling charges was that his superiors in the order were aware of what he was doing and had given tacit approval.
There was speculation that the government might expel the Jesuits, but Pellecer himself told the questioners he would not advise it as it would only heighten their sense of martyrdom. He advocated dialogue and stricter controls. (The Jesuit order has been thrown out twice in the history of the country: once in the colonial period, and again during the liberal reforms of President Justo Rufino Barrios in the 1880s.)
Another dramatic allegation made by Pellecer was that funds for the guerrillas were handled partially through European relief agencies, including Caritas.
The news conference, which was broadcast almost verbatim by the two major TV news programs and later rebroadcast on all radio and television stations in the country, sent the church hierarchy scurrying into closed-door consultations.
A statement released a couple of days later by the national bishops conference claimed that some of Pellecer’s allegations were “serious and false.” The bishops stated their “total support” for the insitutions mentioned by the priest, including Caritas, the Company of Jesus, and the Delegates of the Word of God.
“We profoundly lament that a priest has opted for the path of violence and subversion to solve the pressing problems of the country in contradiction to the very clear norms of the church,” said the statement. The bishops also defended the Latin America Catholic conferences in Medellín and Puebla, which Pellecer had linked with liberation theology.
While Pellecer is the first priest to defect from the guerrilla ranks, two others were killed recently in a shootout with police and another is alleged to be fighting with subversives in the jungle.
On July 25, police surrounded a guerrilla hideout in a suburb of Guatemala city. After a four-hour gun battle, eight bodies were found in the house along with arms, bombs, and leftist propaganda. Two of the dead were later identified as Catholic missionaries: Raoul Joseph Leger, a Canadian, and Angel Martinez Rodrigo, from Spain. They were known respectively as Commandante Miguel and Pedro in the guerrilla organization.
A leftist Mexican magazine, Por Esto, recently published an interview with Donald McKennan, an Irish priest who was allegedly serving as chaplain with a guerrilla group in the Guatemalan jungles. Photos showed him in uniform with a submachine gun over his shoulder. McKennan had served as a priest in Quiche province, an area hit hard by the violence.
Evangelicals in Guatemala have been watching the latest developments carefully. Some see new opportunities for evangelism as many Catholics become disillusioned with their church. Others are wary that all religious workers and institutions, including evangelical missionaries and schools, may come under suspicion.
World Scene
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