Bishop Lloyd Allen of the Diocese of Honduras has written to the other bishops of the Episcopal Church assuring them that “so far” he, his clergy and lay leadership and their families are safe, in the wake of the military coup on Sunday that deposed President Manuel Zelaya.
“A month ago the country was shaken by a 7.1 earthquake and now this,” Allen wrote. “What next and how much longer can this impoverished country survive….
“I want to call on the Church to keep this diocese and the Honduran people highly in prayers. I really don’t know what the future will bring. The Honduran delegation is ready to participate with you all at General Convention. However, if the course of actions does not improve in the next few days, I may have to reconsider.”
Allen wrote that political tension in Honduras rose after Zelaya “pressed on with plans for a nonbinding referendum which opponents said would open the gate for him to rewrite the constitution to run for re-election.”
Last week Congress and the Supreme Court ruled the referendum unconstitutional, Allen wrote. “On Thursday, the president led a group of protesters to an air force installation and seized the ballot boxes, which the procurator’s office and the electoral tribunal had ordered confiscated.
“I predict that you will be hearing a lot more about all what has happened,” Allen wrote.