Fr. Ray Herman--RIP

Trip Start Jan 12, 2006

Trip End Mar 12, 2006

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Flag of Bolivia Quillacollo, Bolivia
Tuesday, January 24, 2006

We investigated a possible trip to Morochata, the mountain pueblo about 35 miles from here where a priest from Dubuque was murdered. Since it is so tiny and remote "you can't get there from here," we went to the next town, Quillacollo, to investigate. After questioning dozens of people, it seems like it just wouldn�t be worth it for us to make the trip. Although we conceivably could do it, without a connection in the town it wouldn't be worth the effort and money involved to simply walk around and look at the village where he literaly gave his life.

I�m disappointed because Ray's impact on my life is one big reason I�m here in Bolivia. As a grade schooler, I knew him personally. Later, I directed the justice & peace center named after him at Loras for a few years. It seems clear that he was murdered for his advocacy work for the poor campesinos. When he ministered some months in Farley just before leaving for Bolivia, he was quickly accepted in town, perhaps for his quiet and mild-mannered ways--more disposed to listen than to speak. His brown eyes were soft and gentle, and he seemed so calm and self-posessed. News of his violent murder rocked everyone who knew him. It just didn't fit.

To learn more about Ray, read the entry Henri Nouwen, the top best-selling religious writer of the last 50 years, wrote about Ray in the book �Gracias!, the diary Henri wrote in Cochabamba and Peru. Altho they never met, Ray�s life and death really impressed Henri.

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