We have chosen to share with you a fascinating podcast, " La Grande Traversée... French priests in Latin America at the time of the dictatorships "a work based on a rewrite of the book " One-way traffic published by LARHRA (Rhône-Alpes Historical Research Laboratory).
This is an account of the history of the CEFAL (Comité épiscopal France-Amérique latine) and the Fidei donum written by Olivier CHATELAN (1) and produced by Marine BECCARELLI, with the support of the Institut des Amériques, the Association Georges HOURDIN and the Friends of Dial (2).
A murder on a railway embankment, solemn warnings, a high-risk training course, contradictory prophecies, meticulously conducted investigations... The ingredients of a good whodunit? Rather, it's a very real story, brought to life by historian Olivier CHATELAN on the basis of documents held at the Centre national des archives de l'Église de France. The podcast consists of 4 episodes that you can listen to separately. Each episode includes a brief summary and a general presentation:
- Episode 1. A desire for Latin America (16 min)
- Episode 2. Men in a hurry (14 min)
- Episode 3. Sailing in heavy weather (14 min)
- Episode 4. Hasta la victoria, always? (12 min)
This multi-voice account is an invitation to immerse yourself in a twofold adventure: that of a world history of France based on the movements of French priests in Latin America, and that of a history of the Catholic Church caught up in political and ideological issues. You are sure to come across the names of Ivan ILLICH and Hélder CÂMARA, and perhaps those of 'Che' GUEVARA and General PINOCHET.
Now all you have to do is choose your listening platform:
Thanks to Olivier CHATELAN for sharing.
To find out more...
(1) Olivier CHATELAN is a senior lecturer (HDR) in contemporary history and head of the "Sciences of Religions and Societies" master's programme at Jean Moulin Lyon 3 University (Faculty of Letters and Civilisations). He is also an elected member of the LARHRA Council (UMR 5190).
(2) The " Friends of DialDIAL" is a French association that supports and runs the activities of DIAL (Diffusion de l'information sur l'Amérique latine), a magazine founded in 1971 by Father Charles Antoine. This monthly online magazine publishes documents translated from Spanish and Portuguese, shedding light on the social, political, religious and cultural realities of Latin America.
