Meeting with Natives in the City of Guatemala (7 March 1983)

On Monday, 7 March 1983, the Holy Father met with the indigenous people in Guatemala City, to whom he said, “Your indigenous cultures are the wealth of the people, effective means of transmitting faith, experiences of your relationship with God, with men and with the world.”

Dear brothers and children

1. My heart overflows with joy to see you gathered here, after having traveled so many different paths, with sacrifices and toil, to give me the opportunity to hug you and tell you how much you are loved by the Church; how much the Successor of Saint Peter, the Pope, Vicar of Christ, loves you.

In you I embrace and greet all the indigenous people and catechists who live in the different places of Guatemala, Central America and all of Latin America. To everyone my affection; to everyone my prayer, my support, my solidarity and my blessing.

And thank you very much for coming to this meeting with the Pope. This pleases me very much, because I was very interested in being with you, who are most in need.

Jesus closed the book, handed it back and sat down. All eyes were fixed on Him. He then began to say to them: This passage of Scripture has been fulfilled today, which you have just heard (cf. Lc . 4, 21).

Yes, in the Son of God, Jesus Christ, born of the Virgin Mary, this Scripture is fulfilled. He is the one sent by God to be our Savior.

This is the Good News that I proclaim to you; Good News that you, with a simple and open heart, welcomed, accepting faith in Jesus our Redeemer and Lord.

Only Christ is capable of breaking the chains of sin and its enslaving consequences.

The light of the Spirit is Christ who gives it to you, so that you can see the paths of progress that you must follow, so that your situation becomes increasingly dignified, as you fully deserve.

Christ makes us all accept that you are a race blessed by God; that all men have the same dignity, that we are all children of the Father who is in heaven; that no one should despise or mistreat another man, because God will punish him; that we must all help others, first of all the most abandoned.

3. The Church presents to you the saving message of Christ, in an attitude of deep respect and love. She is well aware that when she announces the Gospel, she must embody herself in the people who embrace the faith and take on their cultures.

Your indigenous cultures are the wealth of the people, effective means of transmitting faith, experiences of your relationship with God, with men and with the world. They deserve, therefore, the utmost respect, esteem, sympathy and support from all humanity. These cultures, in fact, left behind impressive monuments — such as those of the Mayans, Aztecs, Incas and many others — that we still contemplate in wonder today.

When I think of so many missionaries, evangelizers, catechists, apostles, who proclaimed Jesus Christ to you, all animated with generous zeal and great love for you, I admire and bless their exemplary dedication, rewarded with abundant fruits for the Gospel.

The evangelizing work does not destroy but embodies your values, consolidates and strengthens them. It makes the seeds sown by the "Word of God, which before becoming incarnate to save and recapitulate all things in Himself, was already in the world as a true light that illuminates every man", as taught by the last Council, Vatican II (Vatican II), grow. Gaudium et spes , 57).

This, however, does not prevent the Church, faithful to the universality of its mission, from proclaiming Jesus Christ and inviting all races and all peoples to accept his message. Thus, with evangelization, the Church renews cultures, combats errors, purifies and raises the morals of the people, fertilizes traditions, consolidates them and restores them in Christ (cf. Gaudium et Spes , 58).

Along the same lines, your Bishops said clearly, together with the Episcopate of Latin America: "The Church has the mission of bearing witness to the true God and only Lord. For this reason, evangelization that invites to abandon false concepts of God, unnatural behaviors and aberrant manipulations of man by man" ( Puebla , 406).

4. The Church, however, not only respects and evangelizes peoples and cultures, but has been a defender of the authentic cultural values ​​of each ethnic group.

Also at this moment, the Church knows, dear children, the marginalization that you suffer; the injustices you endure; the serious difficulties you have in defending your lands and your rights; the frequent lack of respect for your customs and traditions.

Therefore, when carrying out her work of evangelization, she wants to be with you and raise her voice of condemnation when your dignity as human beings and children of God is violated; He wants to accompany you peacefully, as the Gospel requires, but with decision and energy, in obtaining the recognition and promotion of your dignity and your rights as persons.

For this reason, from this place and solemnly, in the name of the Church, I ask the Government for legislation that will effectively protect you from abuse and provide you with the appropriate environment and means for your normal development.

I insistently ask that the free practice of your Christian faith not be hindered; that no one intends to ever again confuse evangelization with subversion, and that ministers of worship can carry out their mission safely and without obstacles. And you, do not allow yourselves to be instrumentalized by ideologies that incite you to violence and death.

I ask that your reservations be respected, and above all that the sacred nature of your life be safeguarded. Let no one, for any reason, despise your existence, as God forbids us to kill and commands us to love each other as brothers.

Finally, I urge those responsible to take care of your human and cultural advancement. And for this, schools and health facilities must be provided for you, without any kind of discrimination.

With deep love for everyone, I urge you to follow the paths of concrete solution indicated by the Church in its social doctrine; in order to achieve the necessary reforms through this path, avoiding any recourse to violence.

5. To you, beloved children, belonging to so many ethnic groups, I invite you to cultivate the values ​​that characterize you:

PIETY, which leads you to give God an important place in your life; to love Him as a provident and merciful Father and to respect His holy law. Open yourselves to the love of Christ. Let it influence your people, your homes, your cultures.

LABORIOSITY, with which you not only honorably earn your livelihood and that of your families, but you avoid idleness, the source of many evils, at the same time that you make your land a habitation more worthy of man. With work you fulfill God's will: perfecting creation, fulfilling yourself and serving others. In the name of God, I ask that your work be remunerated fairly and the path to your dignity be opened.

LOVE FOR YOUR HOME AND YOUR FAMILY. They must be the center of your affections, the stimulus in your life. May you always respect them; that you do not destroy them with vice or sin; that you do not ruin them with alcoholism, the cause of so many evils.

SOLIDARITY. Your fraternal love must be expressed in growing solidarity. Help each other. Organize associations to defend your rights and carry out your projects. How many important works have already been achieved along this path!

THE APOSTOLATE. I know that among you there are many who preside over the celebration of the Word, many catechists and ministers.

Do not be discouraged in the apostolate. The genuine apostle of the indigenous person must be the indigenous person himself. God grant that you may have many priests from your own tribes. They will know you better, understand you and know how to present the message of salvation to you in a more appropriate way.

Through good and permanent catechesis, you will reach adult faith with which you will purify traditional rites and ceremonies that must be increasingly illuminated with the Gospel.

6. I think of your places of pilgrimage as Esquipulas and Chichicastenango. May they be privileged centers of evangelization, where serious contact with the Word of God is for you a permanent call to conversion and the purest experience of faith.

I hope, my dears, that you will return to your homes comforted by the meeting we had; with greater love for the Church that loves you and desires to serve you; with the aim of being better.

I will carry you in my heart and I will always ask for abundant blessings from heaven for everyone.

Remember, finally, that the Son of God came to us in the person of Jesus, our Savior, through a woman, the Virgin Mary. She is our sister and also our Mother. The Mother of each person and of the Church.

I know that you love her and invoke her, full of trust. I beseech Her to protect you. May She protect your homes; may it accompany you in work, in suffering and joy, in life and in death.

May Mary give you Christ and always be your much loved Mother. So be it.

"Quinyá rutzil iwach conojel, ishokib, achjab, alobom, alitomab, and ríj tak winak".

"I give a greeting of peace to all of you, women, men, boys, girls, elderly people."

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