by Jean Stokan
Sisters of Mercy Institute Justice Team
Many of us have had the graced opportunity to be with someone just before they died. It’s a time when emotions of profound love, sorrow and gratitude swirl at levels deep. If someone is critically ill, we may witness or be part of a medical intervention trying to do everything possible to prevent our loved one from dying unnecessarily.
Last week, accompanying a Honduran Jesuit priest, Ismael Moreno Coto SJ, in Washington, D.C., I felt like I was at the Last Supper, breaking bread with a man whose life was in balance. Fr. Moreno is director of the Jesuit-affiliated Radio Progreso as well as of the Center for Reflection, Investigation and Communication (ERIC). Since the June 2009 coup d’etat in Honduras, he, along with other members of Radio Progreso and ERIC, have received numerous death threats related to their work of uncovering human rights violations by the wealthy and powerful against defenseless social sectors.
Earlier this year, the UN named Honduras the most violent country in the world. Some are even more at risk for having spoken out on injustice.
Fr. Moreno was invited to testify at Congress’ Lantos Human Rights Commission on threats to “freedom of expression.” His testimony is posted on the Commission’s web site here, and here’s a video….