… [Read more...]

“During the day, thousands and thousands of the faithful who had come from throughout the diocese filled the cathedral in honour of the bishop who died on Monday, January 24… In a letter of farewell read at [the mid-day] celebration by one of the leaders of the civil society group Las Abejas (The Bees), made up of the survivors and families of the 45 massacred in Acteal, Chenalhó, in December 1997, they said good-bye to Samuel Ruiz and made the following petition to him: ‘We ask that you not forget us, and that when you speak with our father-mother God you greet God on our behalf.  Please tell God that the massacre at Acteal continues in impunity. Tatik (sic) Samuel, brother, father, … [Read more...]

… [Read more...]

January 27, 2011 Dear Friends, Standing close in beside me the woman cries, her tears pouring down into her purple dress.  Once in a while she carries her apron to her face, and wipes it crease by crease.  For a second I wonder if it's culturally the right thing to do, but to hell with it, my arm wraps around her, her stained-damp eyes peer into mine, we understand, and we love one another.  So we lean together, holding each other, looking out, forlorn, lost, the two of us, the ten thousand of us here gathered –  bereft, orphaned, undone.  Before us, not ten feet away, he lies, or his body does, in a simple wooden casket, draped with the embroidered cloth of those he loved, those … [Read more...]

Send us your reflections, stories, letters or photos On January 24 Bishop Samuel of Mexico died at the age of 86. He has been described as the diminutive giant of the church in Mexico. He had been Bishop for 51 years and was Bishop of Chiapas for 40. The church has lost a great leader, an inspiration and light to many, many people. The Indigenous peoples of Chiapas have lost an advocate, a tireless defender of their rights and a friend - jTatic or Don as he was fondly known. It has been said that his life was a gospel – stories and examples of how to follow Jesus Christ. His leadership was model for all church leaders. As we mourn his death, we need to remember the lessons … [Read more...]

San Salvador, January 31, 2011 I write as the novena—the nine days of prayer following the death of Bishop Samuel Ruiz—is drawing to a close. The flow of moving tributes to this remarkable leader has become a flood, and this is good: it means people, including his opponents, are thinking about the significance of the life of Don Samuel. And I am writing from San Salvador, where the witness of another exemplary bishop, Oscar Romero, is very much with me. To me, the life of Samuel Ruiz was the Gospel come alive in our times. I was blessed over the years to have been able to meet Don Samuel in groups small and large, and to chat over occasional cafeteria meals and once while doing dishes … [Read more...]