José Alberto Llaguno Farías, S. I. Obispo de la tarahumara, defensor de los derechos humanos (1925-1992)

Abstract

First are given the biographical data of this missionary of the Tarahumara, appointed bishop of the region where he spent 32 years of his life. A man who was not in the least pretentious or ostentatious, he traveled by foot, horse, jeep, or piloted like an expert aviator the mission's light aircraft, to transport the sick, carry missionaries, visit the clusters of houses in the Sierra, or deliver tools and food. He became notable as a man dedicated to his pastoral and humanitarian work. As a scientist, with a doctorate from the Gregorian University of Rome, his thesis was titled la personalidad juridíca del indío en el III Concílio Províncial de México 11585), published by Porrúa. As a linguist he created a method for leaming Tarahumar; as a theologian he encouraged the publication of the theological fundamentals of the indian pastoral. As a historian, in addition to his thesis, he published as a co-author Trilogía de Híspanidad and as a defender of human rights and of indigenous cultures, founded in 1988 COSYDDHAC (Comisión de Solidaridad y Defensa de los Derechos Humanos, A.C.), and wrote a pastoral letter abouth this theme in Januarv of 1991.