It is now official. I was kicked out of the first church in Mexico that I ever visited.
Well, really, I the sacristan tried to kick me out, but I reinforced myself with Sr. Edith’s presence so I could take the few remaining pictures that I wanted to take. Those Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ really do a good job at coming to the assistance of the despairing!
I’m not too upset about the whole thing. Whenever a gringo, such as myself, comes down to Mexico and snaps off nearly one hundred pictures in less than five minutes, the average Mexican does not perceive that I would be a pilgrim, coming as a brother in solidarity, or even a Catholic for that matter. The average Mexican is more apt to believe that I am part of a perceived exploitation of the Mexican people, a perception I learned about today first hand.
During my morning reconnaissance of Coatzacoalcos, the influence of the United States was readily apparent. Wall-Mart, Sam’s Club, and The Home Depot are dominant features of the landscape. They are situated across the street from the once solitary Bodega, a lower quality superstore similar to Wall-Mart, which the Wall-Mart company also owns. The parking lots are filled with cars made in the United States.
The beach is also branded by American influence. The beach is unusable due to the frequent oil slicks that pollute the shores, left over oil spillage from off shore drilling. Even if the oil rigs are owned by a Mexican company, most of the oil is shipped to the United States.
This is “development,” and largely responsible to the NAFTA trade agreement, but the population of Coatzacoalcos holds resentment to their American neighbors, because they feel as if they aren’t really benefiting from the so-called “development.” An estimated thirty percent of population in the surrounding area has moved to the United States to find better employment opportunities. Most of those who have migrated, have done so illegally. In the United States, they work in low wage jobs, and often suffer the scourge of racism, but even at that, they are doing better financially than they could here. Those who remain, hold resentment to this economic reality because, as a family, they are often separated, sometimes forever.
Yeah. No wonder the sacristan tried to kick me out. He probably enjoyed it. Citizens of the United States don’t have a very good reputation down here. There are a lot of pent up feelings of distrust and resentment that often don’t get expressed, but are real. Americans are perceived as controlling economic tyrants, a perception not unlike the oppression the United States fought to overcome during the Revolutionary War.
There are no easy answers to the economic challenges. It is obvious that Mexicans are not getting a fair deal, but then again, isn’t it a good thing that United States companies are promoting development and trade? It is hard to say. Since I’ve been in Mexico, I’ve already heard the complaint that social activists often make, “The rich keep getting richer, and poor keep getting poorer.”
There are times when this axiom is true, but other times when it has to be put into perspective. The reality of Mexico is that the roads are nicer, the busses are newer, there are more cars, and newer cars, than in all of the other parts of Central America. There is a higher percentage of literacy, and a greater expectation for students to complete their elementary education. Compared to say, Honduras, things in Mexico are great! The poor are still poor here, but I still haven’t figured out what it means that they are getting “poorer.”
The poor in Mexico seem to be getting poorer while possessing nicer television sets.
The poor are still people however, and they are still proud of who they are, especially when they have something sacred to protect, like a church. I have usually found that a sacristan who wants to keep me from taking photos, only wants to protect what is important to him/her. I can’t blame him/her.
The church I visited was the parish of San Pedro and was in the city of Minatitilan, Mexico. If you have downloaded Google Earth onto your computer, you can view my pictorial of the church by clicking here.
There was something about the church that I found very interesting. The church was built on the second floor, above a commercial district. “Wow!” I said, as I took a few more shots “The church is above business.”
I took a few more shots, and then realized what I had said.
The Church is above business.
Come to think of it, the Church is above our pride, above our petty differences, and even above our political scuffles. It is not involved in these matters (or should not be involved in these matters,) because it is called to have an objective voice.
I am sure that today will not be the last day of my stay in Mexico that reflect upon the difficulties facing Mexico and the United States. We are neighbors to one another, and our close proximity tends to heighten the intensity of our encounter with one another. It makes it easier for us to abuse each other’s weaknesses. It makes it easier for the effects of sin to influence our relationship. That is one of the by-products of being neighbors.
It might be acceptable for Christians to live this way if it wasn’t so plainly written in the Bible to “Love your neighbor as your self.” If that wasn’t in the Bible, we could go right on perpetuating the racism, the economic exploitation, and the disregard for each others’ laws.
When I finally put down my camera, the source of my conflict with the Mexican sacristan, it finally sank in. The Church is above all that (or should be). It calls us, in our temporal maters, to something… well… higher. It calls us to be brothers and sisters of one another.
And as my own blood siblings would be happy to let you know, I am the type of brother who tends to rib my brothers and sisters about their idiosyncrasies. So I hope that you notice a trite little discrepancy in the Google Earth pictorial. I took a photo of the sign above the parish center which reads “San Juan Paulo II”
Now… it is currently November in the year 2007.
Can anyone tell me what is wrong with the sign?
The sign was obviously made because the Mexican people have an enormous respect for the former pope. I didn’t say anything about the faux pas however. I’m not going to try to convince the Mexican people that the former pope is not yet a saint. If I did that, I’d have more than just the sacristan trying to throw me out of the church.