The catholic church in El Salvador: pre-revolutionary situation, civil war and peace process La iglesia católica en El Salvador: situación pre-revolucionaria, guerra civil y proceso de paz

Abstract

The present article is the result of a research on the Salvadorian case in the project “The Role of the Church in the Peace and Reconciliation Processes in Latin America: A Historical View” which includes El Salvador, Peru, Argentina and Colombia. Four analysis categories were used in order to understand the role the Salvadorian Catholic Church played in the period between 1970 and 1992 when the pre-revolutionary state of affairs, the Salvadorian Civil War, and the Peace Process that gave way to the Chapultepec Peace Agreements, took place. The categories used were: 1) the relationship with Rome and the degree of autonomy of the Salvadorian Catholic Church, 2) the policy set forth from Rome regarding the role and degree of intervention of the Salvadorian Catholic Church in the conflict, 3) the role the Church played as victim or aggressor in the conflict and 4) its role in the negotiation process. Documentary research was carried out with secondary and third-order bibliographical sources, primary sources such as Episcopal Conference records, bishops’ letters, autobiographies, diaries, and statements of guerrilla leaders, among others. Likewise, interviews were made in order to go in depth into the information obtained from the documentary research. Taking the above into account, its role is argumented as that of a Church committed with raising political awareness, the organization of popular sectors, the denouncement of atrocities and the negotiation and reconciliation process, being presented as a church of martyrdom.