MEXICO IS A VERY CATHOLIC COUNTRY?

'Mexico is a very Catholic country' is a phrase we hear repeated in our group discussions. What does that mean? Well, as another phrase repeated in the ISW group puts it -- 'It's complicated.'

 The 2000 Census has 101,456,786 Mexicans above the age of 5 as nominally Catholic. That is an impressive 81% of the total population. Mexico has the world's second largest Catholic population (after Brasil) and is divided into 88 dioceses with 15,700 priests and 46,000 men and women in religious orders.

These numbers do not mean that Mexican Catholics adhere to the Vatican moral teaching on such subjects as contraception and condoms. A 2003 survey indicates that 91% of Mexicans "believe adults should have access to contraception" -- including condoms and the birh control pill. This is just one issue on which Mexicans are not doctrinaire Catholics.

If the phrase 'Mexico is a very Catholic country' does not mean rigid adherence to Vatican teaching on reproductive issues, what does it mean? My understanding is that the cultural vision drawing on the complex roots of Mexican culture is in tune with the sacramental vision characteristic of many forms of Catholicism. Matter mediates the divine. The embracing, loving Mystery shines through rock and flower, bread and wine, dance and laughter, candles and incense and bells. In the Catholic churches one watches parents and grandparents teach the children that there is prayer in the touching of the saints' statues.

Life is more about celebrating gift than listing achievements.  San Cristobal de las Casas is a place of celebration in which each neighbourhood celebrates its patron saint and coloured fiesta flags fly above the narrow streets.

The significance of relationships is evident. In our host family we sit for a number of hours at the evening meal. The family has time for us visitors now becoming part of the family. We are shown the pictures of grandchildren and we talk about uncles and aunts and children. Notwithstanding the shift of population from rural to urban, Mexico is still a country of the extended family.

No surprise that the religious world here is more than simply 'me and Jesus.' We celebrate the child Jesus and Jesus suffering and Jesus in joyful relationship with Mary his mother, Nuestra Senora de Guadaloupe, and all the many saints. There are more saints each day as the martyrs of the periods of extreme persecution of the Catholic church in Mexico -- its priests and its lay congregations -- are remembered and honoured.

What are the implications for an international support worker when assisting development in 'a very Catholic country'? My guess is that the support worker would have to appreciate the role of celebration and relationship. For serious minded, goal-oriented types from the North this may require a letting go and a passing over. This could be a painful process but it is one that promises to release joyful energies.