Álvaro Ramazzini

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Álvaro Ramazzini

Álvaro Leonel Cardinal Ramazzini Imeri (born July 16, 1947 in Guatemala City ) is a Guatemalan clergyman and Roman Catholic bishop of Huehuetenango , temporary chairman of the Guatemalan Bishops' Conference and a fighter for the rights of the rural poor. He is best known in Europe since he received the Konrad Lorenz Prize in 2005 and took part in the 2006 EU-Latin America Summit in Vienna.

Life

Álvaro Ramazzini was ordained a priest on June 27, 1971 . From 1972 to 1976 he was a professor at the Major Seminary in Guatemala. From 1976 to 1981 he completed a doctorate in canon law at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome. From 1981 to 1986 he was professor and rector of the National Seminary in Guatemala City. In 1988 he took over the pastor's position in San Juan Sacatepequez near Guatemala City.

On December 15, 1988, he was appointed Bishop of San Marcos by Pope John Paul II . The episcopal ordination donated in Pope John Paul II himself on January 15, 1989; Co- consecrators were Archbishop Edward Idris Cassidy and José Tomás Sánchez , Archbishop of Nueva Segovia, Philippines. He is the chairman of the Bishops' Conference of Central America.

The diocese of San Marcos, located in the southwestern highlands on the border with the Mexican state of Chiapas, is the economically most underdeveloped diocese in Guatemala, which is characterized by the great poverty of the mostly indigenous rural population and, in recent years, by a large wave of mostly illegal emigration to the USA. The decision of John Paul II at that time to appoint Álvaro Ramazzini as bishop is all the more remarkable, as he was known for his social commitment and his closeness to liberation theology . During this time, Guatemala was also still affected by the Guatemalan civil war , which would last until 1996.

On May 14, 2012, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him . to the bishop of Huehuetenango. The inauguration took place on July 14th of the same year.

On September 1, 2019, Pope Francis announced that he would be admitted to the College of Cardinals as a cardinal priest in the consistory of October 5, 2019 . When the cardinal was created, the Pope assigned him the titular church of San Giovanni Evangelista a Spinaceto on October 5, 2019 . On February 21, 2020, Pope Francis appointed him a member of the Dicastery for Laity, Family and Life and on April 20 of the same year a member of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America .

Act

In addition to his pastoral duties, Bishop Ramazzini repeatedly advocates the social concerns of the rural population. He fought against the destruction of the environment by international mining companies that mine gold in the Department of San Marcos, among other things, and endanger people's health through the use of cyanides and mercury . The villages of San Miguel Ixtahuacán and Sipacapa , which are mainly inhabited by members of the indigenous group of the Mam and Sipacapense, are particularly hard hit . The Marlin mine, which opened in 2005, is the largest gold mine in Guatemala and is operated by Montana Explorada de Guatemala, SA , a wholly-owned subsidiary of Goldcorp, Canada . Ramazzini also criticizes the unjust distribution of wealth in Guatemala and advocates land reform on a democratic basis. Many poor farmers in his diocese cannot live from the yields of their own fields and also work as day laborers on coffee plantations, some of which are far away. There is also always child labor ; and labor migration tears families apart and children disrupt schooling. A phenomenon in recent years has been the massive emigration of people of working age to the USA, which often exacerbates the social problems. Bishop Ramazzini often uses foreign media for his concerns, so he went on an interview trip to the USA and Canada to point out the reasons for illegal immigration from Guatemala. In doing so, he also massively opposed the Central American Free Trade Agreement ( CAFTA ), which has now been implemented .

Bishop Ramazzini is involved in Plataforma Agraria (PA), an amalgamation of various groups of farmers' representatives, trade union organizations and parts of the Catholic Church, which negotiates the land issue with the government and is particularly committed to the situation of the impoverished coffee farmers. This commitment has at times led to a public controversy with the then President of Guatemala Óscar Berger Perdomo .

Through his social commitment and, above all, through his campaign against international mining companies and their local partners, he has been threatened with murder several times in Guatemala, which is characterized by political violence. These death threats were reported in Mexican media on April 4, 2008.

honors and awards

Works (selection)

  • Romero - A witness of hope. Life, work and martyrdom. Translated from the Spanish by Katharina Althaus and Julia Diemer. In: Klaus Hagedorn (Ed.): Oscar Romero. Integrated - between death and life. BIS-Verlag, Oldenburg 2006, pp. 35-44.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ramazzini asume Diocesis Huehuetenango ( Memento of September 6, 2012 in the Internet Archive ), Prensa Libre, accessed on September 6, 2012
  2. ↑ Annuncio di Concistoro il 5 ottobre per la creazione di nuovi Cardinali. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, September 1, 2019, accessed September 1, 2019 (Italian).
  3. ↑ Concistoro Ordinario Pubblico: Assegnazione dei Titoli. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, October 5, 2019, accessed October 5, 2019 (Italian).
  4. ^ Nomina di Membri dei Dicasteri della Curia Romana. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, February 21, 2020, accessed February 21, 2020 (Italian).
  5. ^ Nomina di Membri della Pontificia Commissione per l'America Latina. In: Daily Bulletin. Holy See Press Office, April 20, 2020, accessed April 20, 2020 (Italian).
  6. ↑ Kevin Clarke: In Central America, gold mining begins to lose its luster . In: US Catholic , March 3, 2009. Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  7. ^ Marlin ( Memento August 24, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) on the website goldcorp.com . Retrieved February 15, 2011.
  8. ^ Obispo de Iglesia católica denuncia amenazas de muerte . Radio Sonora website, April 4, 2008.
predecessor Office successor
Julio Amílcar Bethancourt Fioravanti Bishop of San Marcos
1988–2012 		Carlos Enrique Trinidad Gomez
Rodolfo Francisco Bobadilla Mata Bishop of Huehuetenango
since 2012
personal data
SURNAME Ramazzini, Álvaro
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Ramazzini Imeri, Álvaro Leonel (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Guatemalan clergyman and Roman Catholic bishop of Huehuetenango
DATE OF BIRTH July 16, 1947
PLACE OF BIRTH Guatemala City