Our Church building:
Is the biggest one, right in the middle of this picture. Do you think it was built by the parishioners, all getting together and raising money for the structure? Think again. Some people call the "concordat" between the Dominican Government and the Vatican a blessing. Others call it a curse. Perhaps the truth is in the middle. There are many ways in which the Government helps the Church and gives it many opportunities to do its work, but it's also true that you can kill someone with kindness.
Let us do it for you:
There are little Catholic churches which have been built totally by the local population. They are some of the most interesting churches that you can visit in the country. But when the Government steps in and says: "we will build your church for you", it reminds me of a hand dug well project that we were working on in Jovayal, Las Matas de Farfan.
Jovayal:
The community had no adequate water source and so they decided to dig a well. We brought in a twenty foot steel tube tripod with a pulley and the Association of farmers organized the men and women for the work brigades. They did a fantastic job of digging their very first well. None of the people had ever did this before. They went down fifty feet and ran into a hard rock surface. For two weeks they chipped away at the rock, progressing only a few inches per day. But they knew they were only a few feet away from a strong water source...
Centralized planning:
Just when the Jovayal community was a week away from victory, in comes a drilling rig sent by a government bureaucracy. They immediately set up about fifty yards away from the community dug well and within two days they had water.
Community building dynamics:
When the government gave Paraiso a brand new, big church building, they cut away a tremendous opportunity for community growth. The people were taught a terrible lesson: all you have to do is beg the government and it will eventually build you your church.
Ownership:
When the people of Jovayal were digging their well, they truly "owned" the work. It was in their blood and on their hands. They had previously built their own church and the well was part of a process of community growth which placed responsibility on the local leaders. But with the advent of the governmental planning and drilling rig, this process was short circuited. The same thing happens when communities dream about having a church and then leave it to the central planners.
Today:
The original "let's get the government to do it" spirit that went into building the Paraiso church is difficult to replace. There are beautiful examples of self-reliance and growth in local leadership with other projects that the Church has launched... but the principal structure still reflects its origins.
What would you prefer to visit?
Given the chance to see the tiny church that the people of Jovayal developed all on their own...or the chance to visit the big, spacious church which the government built for the people of Paraiso, which one would you choose? The people of "Charco Colorao" in Ranchito of Las Matas de Farfan once put together their own tiny church structure. It amounted to branches thrown up over a depression in the ground and tiny, crude benches. The entire structure was easy to miss since it had natural camouflage! But it was so much fun to visit and share in the excitement of the people: "We did it!"
