Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - Fr. Ottavio Sassu, OP, Pro-Vicar Apostolic for the Vicariate of Peten, which depends from the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, was in Rome for his recent “Ad Limina Apostolorum” visit (see Fides 7/3/2008). In an interview with Agenzia Fides, he presents an overview of the work of the Church in his Vicariate on both a social and ecclesial level.
The Vicariate of Peten has an extension equivalent to a third of the entire country of Guatemala. Until about 40 years ago, Peten was a completely forgotten land...However, in the last 20-30 years, it has grown a great deal, due to immigration to this zone, especially by farmers who come in search of land. For this reason, much of Peten’s natural resources have been destroyed in the cutting-down of trees and the wood smuggling that has begun to evolve in its surrounding area.
The main problems in Peten, according to Fr. Sassu, are drug trafficking and the problem of acquiring lands for farmers. There is also a problem with violence and organized crime that has increasingly grown and spread in the area, due to impunity and corruption.
“As an Apostolic Vicariate, we try to respond to these challenges,” Fr. Ottavio said. “We place intense effort in the area of social promotion. One of the points in our pastoral plan, is to renew the hope in fighting for life in the various sectors of society that our critical to Peten. An example of this is the issue of the land, where we are working on two levels: on the one hand, seeking a certain security on legal terms..., and on the other, supporting legal land registration on a national level. Another important area is farming. There is no point in granting a farmer a land title, if he does not even have the necessary tools in order to use it, in order to work the land. That is why we are working on farming initiatives, to offer farmers necessary information and tools, etc. We also make an effort to confront the problem with land sales. Many times, however, after all the efforts and struggles to acquire the land, once the people have it in their possession - due to the lack of resources and from pressure placed on them by the estate land owners, they wind up selling their lands, which are used for other purposes. First, we try to convince them not to sell their lands and then we also try to offer them the support they need, so that they will not be forced to sell it.
We also work in favor of women, as there is a generalized male chauvinist mentality not only in Peten, but in Guatemala as a whole. That is why we work to support women, to increase their awareness of their dignity and role, turning them into pioneers in their own progress and promotion.
Another field we place a lot of emphasis on, is education; education in general and health education, as the government offers nothing in this respect. In health education, we have programs being run in almost all the parishes. This is all part of the response that we are trying to offer for the needs in our Vicariate.
The Church there is very active and participative. We face the challenge of being a large area, with very few pastoral care workers to attend to all the needs that exist, although in recent years the number of priests has grown - mostly thanks to those who have come from outside the Vicariate. We currently have 22 priests, 6 of whom are native-Petenians, as well as a great number of religious, who are also a great support. As in all Guatemala, the work of the catechists is very important, as they are the backbone of the pastoral work in our diocese. In our Vicariate, anyways, they are fundamental.
We also have the issue of the inculturation of the faith, thanks to our indigenous brethren. Half of the population is of Kekchi ethnic origin, a group that has grown in recent years due to the increase in emigration.
On an ecclesial level, we try to live and share responsibilities among the religious, priests, and laity. We are a Church that works for communion, participation, and co-responsibility. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 11/3/2008 righe 52, parole 714)
