If I could see clearly enough through the doorway of my heart, with its profound gratitude for this journey and the moments that moved me deeply, I would want to tell you something wonderful. I would want you to imagine the crescendo of birdsong that greeted us as dawn broke and we stepped outside San Salvador airport. I would want you to hear the heart songs within those who spoke to our Delegation: distinct chords of absolute commitment to the common good, with melodies affirming everyone’s dignity and basic human rights, notes of yearning for the health of voiceless and vulnerable others, for the release of prisoners unjustly detained, for fair distribution of national wealth for the needs of the poor, and the extraordinary music of organizing for the well-being of communities inclusive of Mother Earth. On our third morning we awakened to an amazing coastal sunrise. All this was part of a wonderful symphony of our first week. All of this, and the music of the lives of four martyrs – three Salvadoran-born, and one Italian-born, Franciscan Friar Cosme Spessotto, missioned in El Salvador for thirty years, who loved the Gospel and the poorest.

Before I left on this trip, I was already hearing the song of great love while reading a biography of Rutilio Grande, SJ. He was born and raised among the campesinos, poor Latino farm workers, of El Paisnal. His upbringing, and formative years as a Jesuit, naturally and completely opened his heart and mind to embrace the vision of Vatican II: to see the church as ‘the people of God’ working together as community (rather than as hierarchy) with a preferential option for the poor. Rutilio worked to empower illiterate, penniless, landless campesinos to organize for better living and working conditions. He formed catechists to serve the people. Through the teachings of the Gospel, Vatican II and implementing the vision of Medellín*, he encouraged new life in his parish, even to hosting a harvest feast in the church where all sat at the table, and no one went hungry. He died a martyr, humbly serving and loving the rural poor of his birthplace.

More and more I felt drawn to witness, with Salvadorans, this joyful and momentous Beatification while feeling tremendous gratitude to Pope Francis for also lifting-up Manuel and Nelson (who assisted in parish ministries and died alongside Rutilio) so representative of ‘the Church of Rutilio.’ On the day of his Beatification, ‘Rutilio Vive’ was a banner message for all to see in El Paisnal. With the people, we walked behind it and other banners, in solidarity, conscious of and grateful for all the Rutilios - men and women – who were martyred following his death.

One highlight for me was meeting young Catholic adults in Aguilares and the Rutilio Grande Community near El Paisnal. They were totally engaged in banner-making and pupusa-making for the Beatification. They also served on committees organized to address the needs of youth, women, health and food security in their communities. It was inspiring to witness their engagement in the life and care of their communities. Unlike the growing individualism in our culture, they seemed resolutely motivated for the common good. Salvadoran Humanitarian Aid, Research, Education (SHARE) Foundation partners with all the groups we visited, supporting projects through fundraising. Wherever groups spoke, gratitude was expressed to SHARE and their decades of solidarity with the Salvadoran people.

Suffice it to say it was a great gift and blessed first week in countless ways! Our many encounters related so well to the spirit of El Salvador’s martyrs, captured in words of Jesus, ‘Come you Blessed Ones, enter God’s kingdom, for I was hungry, and you fed me, thirsty and you … a stranger and you … sick or in prison, and you visited me.’

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​*Following Vatican II, from 1965 and 1968, Latin American Bishops met in Chile, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru and Brazil and developed the framework, language and focus that would characterize Medellín. Medellín revolutionized pastoral and theological reflection in Latin America.

The Honduran supreme court has ordered the release of six anti-mining protesters, ruling that they should never have been put on trial.

The environmentalists, who have been held on remand for two and half years for trying to protect a river in a national park, faced up to 14 years in prison after being convicted on Wednesday of criminal damage and illegal detention. Two others were absolved of the same charges.

Wednesday’s verdict, which cemented Honduras’ ranking as the most dangerous country in the world for environmentalists and land rights defenders, was condemned as “appalling” by the UN special rapporteur for human rights defenders.
Amnesty International described the verdict as “outrageous” and said the Guapinol activists were prisoners of conscience.

But in a dramatic move, the supreme court accepted an appeal filed months earlier that challenged the constitutionality of the charges and the refusal to grant bail.

The court found that the case should never have gone to trial because the judge who sanctioned the indictment against the defenders – and later ordered pre-trial detention – was not authorised to do so. The charges must be annulled and the men freed, as the judge violated due process by presiding on cases outside her jurisdiction.

The eight men, from a poor, semi-rural community called Guapinol, have been held in an overcrowded prison throughout the pandemic as a result of bail being denied – yet the conditions requiring pre-trial detention were never met, according to Thursday’s supreme court decision.

“The rulings confirm that the case should never have proceeded and that the pre-trial detention was illegal,” said defence lawyer Edy Tabora. “The Guapinol defenders were arbitrarily detained.”

The case stems from a huge open-pit mine in Tocoa, owned by one of the country’s most powerful couples, which was sanctioned inside a protected national park without community consultation in a process mired by irregularities, according to international experts.

The Guapinol community set up a peaceful protest camp after the mine polluted rivers relied upon by thousands of people. Security forces violently evicted the encampment and dozens of arrest warrants were issued against the protesters.

International legal and human rights experts widely condemned the criminalization of the activists and the subsequent militarization of the community, which has forced several people to flee and seek asylum in the US.

After a trial mired my delays, irregularities and accusations of judicial bias and falsified evidence, the criminal court ruled on Wednesday that José Márquez, Kelvin Romero Martínez, José Abelino Cedillo, Porfirio Sorto Cedillo, Orbín Nahúm Hernández, and Ewer Alexander Cedillo Cruz were guilty of criminal damage of the mining company’s property and illegal detention of its private security chief.

Arnold Alemán and Jeremías Martínez were absolved of the same charges and allowed to return home.

As a result of the supreme court rulings, defence lawyers will today petition the court to immediately release the six imprisoned men.

Juana Zuniga, partner of José Albino Cedillo, who was among the six found guilty, said: “We the families are in shock, but full of joy. We hope that our companions will be freed as soon as possible and allowed to return home as the defenders that they are and have always been.
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“Our struggle will continue until the national park is free from mining and environmental destruction.”

THEGUARDIAN.COM