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Chiapas, Mexico - "Acteal has been converted into the fountain of hope for many, many people."

This was the message of Raul Vera, an adjunct bishop here in Chiapas, in a recent sermon given in Acteal, the site of a massacre of indigenous people in the war being waged in Chiapas.

Ten CPTers, including 6 team members and four delegation members, participated in a mass last month celebrating the culmination of Bishop Samuel Ruiz's forty years of service as bishop and spiritual leader in this diocese. The Abejas (The Civil Society of the Bees) also officially passed the responsibility of their spiritual leadership from Tatic Samuel (as Bishop Ruiz is known by the indigenous people here) to Bishop Raul Vera.

The liturgy began with the bishops both donning the traditional dress of elders in the Tzotzil Mayan culture. A ritual of transferring of responsibility for spiritual leadership from Ruiz to Vera was followed by scripture readings, singing by the local choir, powerful sermons from both bishops and then the breaking of bread. Many dozens of young adults were accepted as full members in the church in the sacrament of confirmation.

In his sermon Bishop Vera also thanked the local community for their steadfast commitment to the gospel of love. In spite of this "ignominious, terrible act," as Raul described the massacre, the local community continues to believe in the possibility of justice and peace.

"The value of the gospel has converted what [the paramilitaries and Mexican government] wanted to be an act of terror into a mysterious force which maintains hope," said Bishop Vera.