HONDURAS. - I. GEOGRAPHY. - Region of isthmian America, between Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua, comprising a larger independent State and a small British colony.
The territory of the Republic of H. (115,570 sq. km.) consists of a predominantly mountainous region, which presents its larger frontage on the Atlantic (640 km.), while on the Pacific the coast is reduced to the inner part of the deep Gulf of Fonseca (96 km.). The climate, typically equatorial along the flat coastal strips, becomes milder with altitude, though it always remains very humid and rainy.
The population (1.3 million inhabitants; 11 per sq. km.) consists predominantly of mestizos (69%); they are followed, in number, by Amerindians (20%), blacks and Zambos (5%). Whites number little more than 350,000.
The country's greatest resource is agriculture, and within it bananas, coconuts and coffee; maize, potatoes, tobacco and fruit are also produced. Livestock raising is fairly widespread (especially cattle and sheep); the forest wealth is considerable, yielding fine timbers. Mineral resources are not lacking (iron, copper, lead, zinc, antimony and tin), but only gold and silver give rise to any notable mining activity. Trade is in the hands of the U.S.A., which absorb about 3/4 of exchanges, made difficult by the deficiency of means of communication.
The capital Tegucigalpa, in the interior, is the only urban center exceeding 50,000 inhabitants.
H. is a unitary republic (17 departments and 1 territory) with an elective government with unicameral representation; the president holds office for 6 years.
The colonial territory (British since 1638) consists of the coastal strip of south-eastern Yucatán comprised between Chetumal Bay and the Gulf of H. (21,268 sq. km.). It is a region still little known, covered with thick forests, from which fine woods are obtained (mahogany, cedar, pitchpine) and only in small part cultivated (bananas, coconuts, chicle).
The population (61,500 inhabitants, barely 3 per sq. km.) is almost entirely Amerindian and black; whites number about a thousand. The capital is Belize (18,000 inhabitants), the only notable urban center.
Bibliography4 works
Giuseppe Caraci
II. EVANGELIZATION
In the present Republic of H., shortly after the conquest by Cortés in 1526, the Franciscans were the first missionaries. The aboriginal Indian tribes were for the most part peacefully subdued; even today they form the majority of the population.
In 1531 the diocese of Trujillo de H. was erected, transferred in 1568 to Comayagua as a suffragan of Guatemala. In the impassable forests there remained uncivilized Indian tribes, with whom the Franciscans concerned themselves in the 17th and 18th centuries. To this day thousands of Indians have not yet been converted. Under the Republic (from 1812)
ecclesiastical property was confiscated and the separation of Church and State proclaimed. In 1916 the ecclesiastical hierarchy was organized. The diocese of Comayagua was replaced by the archdiocese of Tegucigalpa with the suffragans S. Rosa de Copán and the apostolic vicariate of S. Pedro Sula. The Lazarists work for the conversion of the still pagan Indians of the apostolic vicariate of S. Pedro Sula; the Redemptorists look after those of the archdiocese of Tegucigalpa.
In British H. (v. BELIZE) the Jesuits have been working since 1853 among the Negroes, mulattoes and some Indian tribes. In 1888 the apostolic prefecture of H. was erected, raised to an apostolic vicariate in 1893, and received its present name of Belize in 1925.
Bibliography2 works
Giovanni Rommerskirchen
III. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHURCH
In the Republic of H. the system of separation of Church and State is in force, as is explicitly proclaimed in art. 57 of the Constitution, and the free exercise of all religions is guaranteed. Such a regime, in effect, is nothing but the juridical expression of the lay and anticlerical mentality that characterized the revolutionary movements which, in the last century, led the Republics of Central America to independence.
As regards marriage, the law of the Republic recognizes only civil marriage; religious marriage may be celebrated only upon presentation of the certificate of the having taken place of the civil rite, on pain of imprisonment or a fine varying up to 250 dollars, if the infraction is committed by a national priest, or expulsion from the country, if it is a foreigner. Divorce is legally permitted and practiced for very frivolous reasons.
Since the last century religious instruction has been banned from the state schools. Years ago a bill was presented to Parliament aimed at filling this gap; signatures were collected and the press also took it up; the bill was, however, rejected. A law of 14 March 1947 obliges educational institutions to choose 80% of their teaching staff from among nationals. This has made the problem of the Christian education of the young more serious, a problem already difficult because of the limited number of private Catholic schools run by religious bodies or institutes, and because these do not count numerous native members among their ranks.
(property of Enc. Catt.)
Another provision of the constitutional Charter that causes no small difficulties for the Church is the one contained in art. 18, according to which foreigners may not hold public posts or offices, including those of the religions admitted in the country, on pain of expulsion. This rule, given the scarcity of the Honduran clergy, means that the appointment of bishops present in H. poses particular difficulties, although the legislation retains no claims of patronage.
The Constitution further prohibits the establishment in the territory of the Republic of any class of monastic associations; the law regulates the entry into the country of persons belonging to the aforesaid associations (art. 61). Nevertheless these provisions are not applied in all their rigor.
Likewise, men responsible for the government have shown, in recent years, deferential benevolence toward the Church.
H. maintains diplomatic relations with the Holy See. Until 1938 the apostolic nunciature of H. was united with those of Guatemala and El Salvador. In that year it was separated and entrusted to a newly appointed titular. In 1948 it was united with the apostolic nunciature of Nicaragua, and both were entrusted to a single titular.
Ippolito Rotoli
IV. SCHOOL SYSTEM
Art. 24 of the Constitution of the Republic of H. states: "The State has the primary duty to promote and protect public education in its various branches. Primary education is compulsory, secular and free; secondary and higher education are likewise secular. No minister of a religious society may direct the schools supported by the State."
Primary education is provided in the 987 primary schools dependent on the municipalities and is subsidized by the State. Secondary education is provided in 23 colleges. Teachers are trained in the 4 normal schools, in the model normal school of Comayagüela and in the "Central Institute" of Tegucigalpa. Higher education is provided in the "Universidad Nacional" in Tegucigalpa, founded in 1847, and in the "Escuela Nacional de Agricultura," founded in 1923. The government, given the high percentage of illiterates, has exceptionally granted permission for the founding of 5 Catholic missionary elementary schools among the Indians, where the number of illiterates reaches 80%.
The education of the Catholic clergy is provided for in the metropolitan Seminary of St. Vincent in Tegucigalpa.