A discussion with:
Juan Sebastián Chamorro
Former Pre-Candidate for President of Nicaragua
Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellow
Todd Walatka
Teaching Professor, Department of Theology
Kellogg Institute Faculty Fellow
David Lantigua
Co-Director, Cushwa Center
Associate Professor of Moral Theology/Christian Ethics
Kellogg Institute Faculty Fellow
From anticlericalism to anticommunism, persecution has taken various forms in Central America on the political left and right, often dividing the life of the Church. This discussion of the Church and persecution explores the shifting social-political realities marking the conflicted presence of Catholicism there during the last five hundred years. With the martyrdom of St. Óscar Romero (†1980) providing the focal point of discussion, speakers engage the colonial Mesoamerican past and present-day Nicaragua in view of Romero’s legacy. Historical and contemporary witnesses to human dignity in Central America bear testimony to the enduring yet multifaceted struggle for justice and freedom against abuses of power. Join Todd Walatka and David Lantigua from Theology and Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellow Juan Sebastián Chamorro for Romero Days 2024 as they discuss The Persecuted Church in Central America, Then and Now.
Sponsored and hosted by Notre Dame’s Kellogg Institute for International Studies. Cosponsored by the Cushwa Center and the Department of Theology.
Image: Staff of Universidad Centroamericana, Nicaragua’s Jesuit university, removing the crucifix from the university chapel for safekeeping after the Nicaraguan government ordered the university to close in August 2023.
