HONDURAS, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

A republic located in Central America, Honduras is bounded on the north by the Caribbean Sea, on the southeast

by Nicaragua, on the South by the Pacific Ocean, on the southwest by El Salvador, and on the west by Guatemala. A mountainous country, Honduras contains deposits of gold, silver, copper, lead, iron ore, and other minerals. The population is predominately mestizo, with a large minority population of Amerindians descended from the region's ancient Mayan tribes. The Honduran economy is primarily agricultural and produces the tropical export crops of cacao, sugar, coffee, and bananas; it also has great forest wealth, although increasing deforestation due to logging activity raised environmental concerns beginning in the 1990s.

Christopher Columbus disembarked on the coast of Honduras on Aug. 14, 1502, and colonization of the region was begun two decades later, when Francisco de las Casas, a lieutenant of Hernan Cortéz, founded the port city of Trujillo. During the colonial period Honduras was one of the provinces of the captaincy-general of Guatemala. These provinces declared their independence June 24, 1823, and Honduras joined the short-lived United Provinces of Central America. One of the presidents of the confederation was Francisco Morazán, a Honduran.

A bishopric was erected in the Honduras area in the 16th century, and the See of Comayagua was functioning at the time of independence. However, there was no bishop there from 1819 to 1842. The constitution of republican Honduras gave preferential treatment to Catholicism until 1880 when complete religious freedom was established.

Throughout the late 19th century and into the 20th Honduras was the scene of continuous political upheaval, often of a violent nature. Internal wars and military coups were overshadowed during World Wars I and II, when Hondurans fought against Germany. During the 1950s and 1960s border disputes with neighboring Nicaragua and El Salvador seemed to be resolved, and with U.S. support the government adopted a new constitution in 1982. Unfortunately, the border dispute with Nicaragua continued to threaten violence as late as 1999, in part due to Honduras's use by guerilla fighters as a base during the Contra's war with the Nicaraguan government. A failing economy and increasing poverty was the result. By the late 1990s countries such as France came to the region's aid by agreeing to forgive its portion of the $4.3 million in assistance loans, and international aid arrived in the wake of the death and destruction caused by Hurricane Mitch in November 1998. Pope John Paul II was vocal in his encouragement of such efforts in the Honduras and neighboring countries, and he also engaged in efforts to mediate in Central America's political disputes.

Within this politically unstable region, a shortage of clergy was a continuing problem throughout the mid-to late 20th century. In 1964 there were fewer than 200 priests, half of them members of religious orders, although by 2000 that number had grown to 327 priests. Of the few secular clergy, about half were Hondurans; others traveled from Spain, Italy, and other Latin American countries. Regular clergy from Spain, the United States, Canada, and Italy included members of the Congregation of the Missions, Franciscans, Jesuits, the Society for Foreign Missions (Quebec), and Maryknoll. Franciscan Sisters, School Sisters of Notre Dame, and Sisters of Mercy conducted several primary and secondary schools throughout Honduras. The Honduran government continued its amicable relationship with the Church, funding the construction of a statue of Christ on a mountain over-looking Tegucigalpa in 1997. As the government moved from military to civilian control it also sought ways to involve members of the Catholic hierarchy in the transition as a way to establish confidence among Honduran citizens. In 1998 it authorized Solidarity Catholic, the first Church television network in Honduras. In a more controversial move, in 2000 the government ordered that the Bible be read in all Honduran schools, a measure even the Church opposed as unconstitutional. Into the 21st century the Church looked to address the problems of poverty, gang violence, threats to the family, and the growth of spiritual indifference.

The Honduran Catholic Church enthusiastically supported ecumenical outreach, and Archbishop Oscar Rodriguez Maradiaga of Tegucigalpa was given charge of interreligious relations in the country. The Archbishop also planned to create an interfaith library in the nation's capital that would be available to all. While ecumenicism was encouraged among recognized faiths, controversial groups, such as the Unification Church and certain evangelical Protestant sects, continued to be viewed with disfavor by the government. A Methodist population, established in Honduras in 1859, was one of the largest recognized minority religions; others included Central American Missions, Quaker, Seventh-Day Adventist, Moravian, Foursquare Gospel, Baptist, and Mormon.

Bibliography: r. s. chamberlain, Conquest and Colonization of Honduras, 1502–1550 (Washington 1953). f. d. parker, The Central American Republics (New York 1964).

[j. herrick/eds.]