Truly Mayan, Truly Christian
By Fr. Rey Tejico, CICM
Like tribal people everywhere, the Mayan Indians of Guatemala are under siege from the Government, the military and intrusive lowlanders. Fr. Rey Tejico, a young Filipino missionary, tells us how the Church is trying, albeit belatedly, to respect and integrate the Mayan culture into the liturgy and to ensure that it enriches our Christian life.
The Chaos of Ignorance
When in 1992 our Province evaluated its missionary presence in Guatemala the decision was made to make a more radical commitment to pastoral missionary presence among the Indians. As a result of this decision a team of CICMers took up the task. We were convinced that we had given the right answer to the question: where is our presence as a missionary Congregation most needed in Guatemala today? The two places we chose were Aldea Lo de Fuentes and Tierra Nueva II.