The first public pronouncement of the Catholic Church in Honduras can be found in article on a Spanish church website that reiterates a position the church took ten days before the coup. The article begins: “The executive director of Caritas of Honduras, Father Germán Calíx, make it clear that the Catholic Church rejects the coup against the constitutional government of its country, but at the same time demands that the deposed official Manuel Zelaya respect the constitutional requirements for plebiscites and referenda in regard to constitutional reforms.” The full text in my English translation can be found below in the previous post.
The bishop of Santa Rosa has been meeting with the priests of the diocese and I suspect that a statement may be released by tomorrow afternoon. When I have a copy I will publish and translate it.
Hemano Juancito, 1-July-09, 10:59 P.M.
Late on Saturday 27-June (the coup was the next morning) Hermano Juancito posted “Rumors abound here. I won’t comment until I have some real information.”
It’s no secret the Church has its own problems with President Zelaya, which is rather beside the point. Hermano Juancito is John Donaghy, a lay volunteer with the Catholic relief organization Caritas, in Santa Rosa de Copán, Honduras is commenting, meaning he has some real information.
His reports of violence, news blackouts and of civil liberties being rescinded are what we are hearing from others and I hope no one is foolish enough to start suggesting a Catholic missionary worker from Ames Iowa is in cahoots with Fidel Castro.
His blog was mentioned by Andrew Sullivan of the Atlantic Magazine, which he mentions has caused his traffic to explode… “And so my ministry grows – hopefully still ‘in service to those most in need.’ Brother Juanito writes.
Stay safe, Brother John.
And keep checking Hermano Juancito for updates (and — for those who do so — pray he can keep posting).
The “null vote” — those who plan to mark their ballot for no one, or write in a candidate (”Batman” — always a favorite write-in protest candidate — may garner more votes than listed candidates in several districts) — has become a factor, though the votes will not count in assigning seats. The “nullistas” have a variety of causes… from demanding an electoral system that allows for independent candidates (both rightists and leftists have their own candidates in mind), or change the law to allow for referendum and recall, to those in the media who want to legalize paid political advertising. The recent Honduran coup… caused in 
Pizarro brothers for the ascension of Diego Almagro II. The killing was also politically motivated. Almargo II was the son of Diego de Almargo, founder of Chile and companion and later rival of Pizarro, who would be sentenced to death in 1538 by decapitation, carried out under orders of the Pizarro brothers. Almargo II sought revenge (he would be captured within a year and assassinated as well after the Battle of Chupas) and threw Peru into a lengthy civil war. The Spanish fought back the threats against its interests in Peru, which made it the richest nation on earth at the time, and interred the country for another three centuries.
… and so on. The mention of the “St Louis Chief of Police” rang a bell, and I knew I’d seen this exact same letter — word for word — before. YUPPER. It is a supposed e-mail by someone named Tom O’Malley who claims to have worked at the South West Bell Telephone Company office in Mexico City.
