María Julia Hernández (January 30, 1939 – March 30, 2007)[1] was a prominent human rights advocate who tried to speak for victims of the civil war in El Salvador. She was the founding director of Tutela Legal, the human rights office of the Roman CatholicArchdiocese of San Salvador.[2]
Maria Julia Hernandez. Fighter for justice and the defense of human rights. Collaborator with Archbishop Romero and initiator of the investigations of the El Mozote Massacre and the assassination of Saint Oscar Romero.
Hernández was born in San Francisco Morazán, Honduras, to Salvadoran parents. Her family returned to El Salvador shortly after her birth. She never married but dedicated her life to the Catholic Church and its work among the people of El Salvador.
She spent 30 years gathering evidence of massacres and individual killings, interviewing survivors, seeing that they stayed alive and compiling a book of the dead. The book of the dead grew into more of an encyclopedia of political violence.
Hernández did her work in a sparsely furnished room decorated by a cross and two photographs of ArchbishopÓscar Romero, the church leader who was assassinated in 1980 by right-wing forces in El Salvador. Romero was killed while celebrating Mass, after calling upon the army to stop the death squads who were attacking real and imagined opponents of the status quo.
The killing of the archbishop was among the opening shots of the civil war that lasted until 1992. It was a central event in the life of María Julia Hernández. Hernández worked with Romero, who was installed as bishop in 1977, at the start of a 15-year wave of violence that pitted a relative handful of left-wing guerillas against the ruling class, the armed forces and the government of El Salvador. Most of the 75,000 victims of the violence were peasants who were killed while passively resisting the powers of the state.
Washington Post: Human Rights Activist Maria Julia Hernandez dies
New York Times: María Julia Hernández, 68, Rights Advocate in El Salvador, Dies
The Economist: María Julia Hernández obituary
Referencesedit
^Walters, Kerry S. (2013). Blessed Peacemakers: 365 Extraordinary People Who Changed the World. Cascade Books.
^Will, Emily Wade (2016). Archbishop Oscar Romero: The Making of a Martyr. Resource Publications. ISBN1498283551.
^Amanda Verdery Young. "Maria Julia Hernandez". Women In Peace. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
^"Pacem in Terris Past Recipients". Diocese of Davenport. Retrieved 2022-03-09.
April 12, 2024
maría, julia, hernández, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, ma. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Maria Julia Hernandez news newspapers books scholar JSTOR March 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Maria Julia Hernandez January 30 1939 March 30 2007 1 was a prominent human rights advocate who tried to speak for victims of the civil war in El Salvador She was the founding director of Tutela Legal the human rights office of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Salvador 2 Maria Julia Hernandez Fighter for justice and the defense of human rights Collaborator with Archbishop Romero and initiator of the investigations of the El Mozote Massacre and the assassination of Saint Oscar Romero Hernandez was born in San Francisco Morazan Honduras to Salvadoran parents Her family returned to El Salvador shortly after her birth She never married but dedicated her life to the Catholic Church and its work among the people of El Salvador She spent 30 years gathering evidence of massacres and individual killings interviewing survivors seeing that they stayed alive and compiling a book of the dead The book of the dead grew into more of an encyclopedia of political violence Hernandez did her work in a sparsely furnished room decorated by a cross and two photographs of Archbishop oscar Romero the church leader who was assassinated in 1980 by right wing forces in El Salvador Romero was killed while celebrating Mass after calling upon the army to stop the death squads who were attacking real and imagined opponents of the status quo The killing of the archbishop was among the opening shots of the civil war that lasted until 1992 It was a central event in the life of Maria Julia Hernandez Hernandez worked with Romero who was installed as bishop in 1977 at the start of a 15 year wave of violence that pitted a relative handful of left wing guerillas against the ruling class the armed forces and the government of El Salvador Most of the 75 000 victims of the violence were peasants who were killed while passively resisting the powers of the state In 1991 Hernandez was awarded the Pacem in Terris Award 3 4 It was named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope John XXIII that calls upon all people of good will to secure peace among all nations Pacem in terris is Latin for Peace on Earth Maria Julia Hernandez died on March 30 2007 of a heart attack in San Salvador at the age of 68 See also editJose Castellanos Contreras Marina Manzanares MonjarasExternal links editWashington Post Human Rights Activist Maria Julia Hernandez dies New York Times Maria Julia Hernandez 68 Rights Advocate in El Salvador Dies The Economist Maria Julia Hernandez obituaryReferences edit Walters Kerry S 2013 Blessed Peacemakers 365 Extraordinary People Who Changed the World Cascade Books Will Emily Wade 2016 Archbishop Oscar Romero The Making of a Martyr Resource Publications ISBN 1498283551 Amanda Verdery Young Maria Julia Hernandez Women In Peace Retrieved 2022 03 09 Pacem in Terris Past Recipients Diocese of Davenport Retrieved 2022 03 09 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maria Julia Hernandez amp oldid 1114652100, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
