PANAMA, THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN

The Republic of Panama is, geographically, the narrowest part of Central America and unites North and South America. It is situated between the Republics of Colombia on the east and Costa Rica on the west. On the north is the Atlantic Ocean and on the south the Pacific Ocean. Rugged mountains run the length of the interior, falling to plains and rolling hills near the coast. The climate is hot and humid, marked by a rainy season from

May to January. Natural resources include copper, mahogany timber and shrimp; agricultural products consist of bananas, rice, corn, coffee and sugarcane.

Panama is an isthmus with the 47 mile-long interoceanic Panama Canal located at its narrowest point. Begun by the French in 1882, the canal was completed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers between 1904 and 1914. The canal was placed at the service of worldwide maritime trade and governed by the United States under the authorization of the Republic of Panama until 1999, when the entire canal zone (553 sq. miles) was turned over to the republic.

A Spanish colony until 1821, Panama broke its ties to Gran Columbia and became independent as a U.S. protectorate in 1903. The region, controlled by a succession of volatile administrations, required repeated intervention by the U.S. in order to preserve its interest in the canal zone. From 1988 to 1989 General Manuel Noriega seized control; he was deposed, with U.S. backing in favor of a civilian regime, and was convicted of drug trafficking in 1992. Most Panamanians are ethnic mestizo, with Amerindian, European (Spanish) and West Indian minorities. Indigenous people live in the mountainous regions, while others reside in the country's more populous areas. During the 1980s and 1990s the region's rainforests were severely diminished through deforestation.

The Early Church. Both Spanish explorer Rodrigo de Bastidas in 1501 and Christopher Columbus, on his fourth voyage to the New World in 1502, traveled portions of Panama, although neither perceived it was an isthmus. This was left to Vasco Núñez de Balboa, who crossed from one ocean to the other in 1513. The Holy See, by petition of the catholic King Ferdinand of Spain, created the bishopric of Darién, the oldest on the American continent and the fourth in the New World. In 1514 Franciscans led by Bishop Juan de quevedo, and six years later Dominicans led by Bishop Vicente Peraza, entered the region to convert the indigenous tribes of Darién. With the support of the Spanish crown, these first missionaries staked out settlements in the mountains, valleys

and plains, many of which grew into major cities in the centuries that followed.

Jesuits began their residence in the isthmus in the middle of the 16th century, and, in addition to missionary work, devoted their efforts to education. Some of their native students were inspired to enter the Society of Jesus, among them theologian Pedro Ignacio de Cáceres, educator Juan Antonio Giraldo and Agustín Hurtado, a zealous missionary, who in 1677 was martyred by natives to whom he was preaching the gospel. Dominican General Adriano Ufelde de Santo Tomás was among the most noted evangelist of the colonial period, and his written works provided historians with a valuable source of historical information.

The Panamanian curia was suffragan of the archdiocese of Seville till 1546, of Lima until 1836, of Bogotá till 1901 and finally of Cartagena de Indias till 1925, at which time, by disposition of Pius XI, the Republic of Panama became an archdiocese. In 1749 the University of St. Xavier was founded by the native priest Francisco Javier de Luna Victoria. Many native Panamanians also reached the high honor of the episcopate, among them Francisco Javier de Luna, bishop of Chuquisaca, Bolivia (d. c. 1778) and Manuel Joaquín González de Acuña y Sanz Merino, bishop of Panama (1797–1813).

An Independent Panama. Led by Bishop José Higinio Durán, the Church took a leadership role in the independence movement, and in 1821 Panama gained independence from Spain. Under the new government, the Church enjoyed independence from civil government while maintaining cordial relations. Freedom of religion was granted to all faiths by the new constitution, and this attracted a number of evangelical Protestant groups. The constitution, promulgated following independence from Columbia on Nov. 3, 1903, recognizing that the Catholic faith predominated, extended it special protection, financing its missions and granting subsidies for the construction of churches and the development of charitable foundations, especially in the field of education and scholarships for parochial schools. The Church had no other properties or income apart from donations. Under a new constitution dated Oct. 11, 1972, freedom of religion was continued. In addition, Catholicism continued to be taught in state-run schools, although parents could exempt their children from this curriculum. Clerics were prohibited from holding public office.

In the middle of the 20th century a shortage of priests required that men's vocations be supplemented by Spanish clergy; vocations continued to be adequate among women. Religious communities active in the region included Jesuits, Augustinians, Paulists, Franciscans, Salesians, Christian Brothers, Benedictines, Sisters of Charity, Maryknoll, Discalced Carmelites, Franciscans, Dominicans, Mercedarians and Servants of Mary. Despite the inroads made by foreign evangelical Protestant groups during the second half of the century, the Church participated enthusiastically in ecumenical conferences, through which it effected positive social change in Panama.

Through the leadership of General Omar Torrijos from 1968 to 1981, Panama gained economic autonomy, and in 1977 a treaty was signed under which the canal would revert to Panama by the end of the century. Torrijos was killed in 1981. Seven years later General Manuel Noriega took control. Following elections in May of 1989 during which president-elect Guillermo Endara was forced into hiding and charges of corruption abounded, Church leaders accused Noriega of fraudulent election practices. Over 20,000 U.S. troops descended on the Panamanian capital to depose Noriega, who was suspected of drug trafficking on a large scale. Ten days later Noriega surrendered Panama's high office, his relinquishment of power aided by Church mediation. In 1990 Endara abolished the country's standing military. During the 1990s the government of Ernesto Balladares encouraged a strong economy based on banking, international trade and tourism. Government corruption, perhaps caused by Panama's position as a distribution point for illegal drugs, however continued to be a problem. Remarking on Panama's acquisition of all rights to the Panama Canal on Dec. 31, 1999, Pope John Paul II called it a "magnificent opportunity" for the government to improve the quality of life for all Panamanians.

Into the 21st Century. By 2000 there were 161 parishes tended by 166 diocesan and 230 religious priests. Other religious included approximately 55 brothers and 560 sisters, many of whom aided the Panamanian people through their work in the nation's 41 primary and 39 secondary Catholic schools. In 1999 Church leaders participated in a peace initiative near the Colombian-Panama border in an effort to end confrontations between Marxist and other guerilla groups, engaged in fighting, that endangered and impoverished local populations.

Bibliography: e. j. castillero reyes, Historia de Panamá (6th ed. Panama 1959). g. rudolf, Panama's Poor: Victims, Agents, and Historymakers (Miami 1999). Annuario Pontificio has information on all diocese.

[e. j. castillero/eds.]