In December 2021, the Office of Human Rights of the Archdiocese of Guatemala (ODHAG) awarded the “Monsignor Juan José Gerardi Human Rights Award 2021” to Monsignor Rosolinio Bianchetti Boffelli and to the frontline personnel in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
During the ceremony, which took place prior to the International Human Rights Day celebrated on December 10th, the work of doctors Dr. Dania Hernández, Dr. Zulma Calderón, Dr. Mario Napoleón Méndez, Dr. Adolfo Enrique Pérez, Nursing Licentiate Marta Alicia Juárez, and Father Dennis Doren, LC, for their frontline efforts in favor of Covid-19 patients was recognized. Additionally, Monsignor Rosolinio Bianchetti Boffelli was honored for his work in human rights by supporting the formation of local organizations in the first communities he attended, promoting respect for human dignity, community development, and his efforts in the beatification of ten individuals who were murdered during the internal armed conflict.
“With the limited resources available to frontline health professionals, under the threats of the virus, they have cared for the patients. Dr. Zulma Calderón supervised work in hospitals and reported irregularities to ensure proper treatment for the infected. Father Dennis Doren has provided spiritual support to patients and their families, despite his own Covid-19 infection. And Monsignor Rosolinio Bianchetti has always been with the poorest and most needy,” acknowledged Nery Rodenas, executive director of ODHAG, to the awardees.
Although Father Dennis Doren, LC, is not a medical professional, he has been on the front lines during this pandemic, like many other priests who have provided spiritual support to the infected and their families. And although he suffered from Covid-19 firsthand, he did not turn away from those in need: “I do not feel worthy of receiving the Gerardi order. I am just one more, a link within a great human and spiritual chain that has been there accompanying, strengthening, and comforting patients and their loved ones,” recounts Father Dennis, who is also the local director of Regnum Christi in Guatemala.
“Despite the poor conditions and adversities presented by the health system, the pandemic has shown us the dedication, commitment, and bravery of health personnel in the face of such a demanding and unsafe situation that is the Covid-19 pandemic,” mentioned Zulma Calderón, health advocate at the Office of the Ombudsman for Human Rights (PDH). Although sadly thousands of deaths have been recorded in Guatemala, Covid-19 has also demonstrated the greatness, bravery, solidarity, charity, and love for one’s neighbor of many women and men who are truly deserving of receiving the Monsignor Juan José Gerardi order today.
The “Monsignor Gerardi Human Rights Order,” which has been awarded for the seventeenth time this year, was established as a recognition by the Office of Human Rights of the Archdiocese of Guatemala for the work carried out in favor of human rights, historical memory, or the preservation of the memory of Monsignor Juan Gerardi by individuals or groups throughout the year.
