Blog Post #1

Pope Concedes Unjustifiable Crimes in Converting South Americans

This article was published in the New York Times on May 24, 2007 and summarizes the controversy surrounding a speech that Pope Benedict XVI made to South Americans in Brazil about the introduction of European missionaries around 500 years ago.

While on a visit to South America Pope Benedict XVI made some remarks to an audience in Brazil that the European missionaries who visited the area nearly 500 years ago brought their beliefs to the indigenous people because it is what they were asking or longing for. The Pope described the entire situation as an “encounter between faith and indigenous peoples” and he went on to mention that a “foreign culture wasn’t being imposed” and the culture of the people who lived in the area would not be forgotten. He maintained that the mission was not to convert the indigenous people to Catholicism, or to impose a foreign culture on them. These comments sparked outrage among leaders of several South American countries who viewed the situation completely differently. One leader described the situation as “one of the most horrible genocides that humanity as ever seen”. In an effort to calm the waters, the Pope later conceded that “unjustifiable crimes” were committed during this time period, and that “fundamental human rights were often trampled”. The backlash from his original comments gives insight into the two different perceptions of the situation, one from the perspective of the Catholic church, and the other from the people of South America.

I believe that this article provides a good example of two cultures and the identities that are associated with each of them. On one side is the Catholic church, who views the situation, as explained by the Pope, as an introduction of the Catholic faith to the indigenous South American people. While on the other hand the South American people view the situation differently. They feel they had no choice in the matter; it was either convert or be ostracized or killed. On some level I think this trend has been echoed throughout history in many different formats. One culture is exposed to a larger and maybe more influential one and is forced to conform or adopt the new beliefs otherwise face serious consequences. In some situations they may not have been given a choice, they were just eliminated without being given a chance to change. Overall this article highlights how these two cultures view themselves and their role in this particular situation, and how the one perception can vary so drastically from the other. (421)


Link to article:
http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F30717FF3D540C778EDDAC0894DF404482
or:
http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1276146111&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=23824&RQT=309&VName=PQD



Links to other articles about the same situation:

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1275496861&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=23824&RQT=309&VName=PQD

http://proquest.umi.com/pqdweb?did=1276093981&sid=1&Fmt=3&clientId=23824&RQT=309&VName=PQD

This blog was created for my CMU/SOC 150 class at Cascadia Community College.