Religion: Those Beleaguered Maryknollers

The missionaries draw fire in Latin America and at home

Miguel d'Escoto is both a Maryknoll priest and Foreign Minister in the new radical, reformist government of Nicaragua. Pope John Paul II has made it bluntly clear that he wants all priests to get out of politics. So have the bishops of Nicaragua. But D'Escoto and other colleagues refuse, saying that they must first serve God by serving the people and the revolution. D'Escoto's position has stirred concern—and rage—about the Maryknoll order across Latin America.

In May another Maryknoll father, Roy Bourgeois, burst into...