Ruiz, Samuel (1924–)
Ruiz, Samuel (1924–)
Samuel Ruiz was appointed bishop of San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, in 1959. He participated in the Second Vatican Council, and in 1968 was appointed president of the Latin American Episcopal Conference (CELAM) for Indigenous People and delegated to participate in the CELAM in Medellín, Colombia. He promoted the 1974 Indigenous Congress, which set guidelines for hearing the social and religious demands of indigenous people. Ruiz helped to defend the refugees from the war in Guatemala, and founded the Fray Bartolomé de Las Casas Human Rights Center in conjunction with the Dominicans in the diocese. He promoted indigenous deaconship, and was a mediator between the Mexican government and the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). In 1994 he created the National Commission for Intermediation (CONAI) to seek a political solution to the armed conflict. UNESCO awarded him its Simon Bolívar International Prize in 2000 for his human-rights efforts.
See alsoChiapas; Colombia: Since Independence; Guatemala; Human Rights; Las Casas, Bartolomé de; Medellín; Mexico, Organizations: Zapatista Army of National Liberation; Religion in Mexico, Catholic Church and Beyond; Salinas de Gortari, Carlos; San Cristóbal de las Casas.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ruiz García, Samuel. Mi trabajo Pastoral, en la diócesis de San Cristóbal de Las Casas. Principios teológicos. México: San Pablo, 1999.
Ruiz García, Samuel, and Carles Torner. Comment les Indiens m'ont converti. Paris: Atelier, 2002.
Pablo Romo