Vicariate of Solidarity

The Vicariate of Solidarity (La Vicaría de la Solidaridad) was a human rights organization in Chile during the military regime of Augusto Pinochet.

The Vicariate of Solidarity was an agency of the Chilean Catholic Church under the Archdiocese of Santiago. At the request of Cardinal Raul Silva Enriquez, the vicariate’s first director, it was set up by Pope Paul VI in 1976 to stop the abduction and ill treatment of Chilean citizens by the government. It ceased operation in 1992, after the military dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet had fallen.

The Vicariate evolved from an ecumenical peace commission called the Committee for Cooperation for Peace (COPACHI), which was started by the Catholic Church with the support of other churches to defend Chilean citizens from the human rights violations occurring as a result of the coup in early October 1973. Representatives of different churches organized a group to sign the Committee's constitution and met regularly after that until conflicts with the government developed. COPACHI grew quickly, and over its short period of existence investigated a broad range of human rights violations.

In May 1974, Augusto Pinochet’s government stopped viewing it as a humanitarian organization, as it had been seen before, and began to see it as the opposition. COPACHI eventually dissolved because the government was upset that it provided information to the Church, international organizations, embassies and international press corps about the government’s repressive actions. Between September and November of 1975, many COPACHI workers were detained and threatened in their homes, and the co-president was forbidden to re-enter the country. Pinochet called for it to disband because he claimed it disrupted public order. Suddenly, people who used to turn to COPACHI for help had nowhere to go, and started to visit the Vicars of Santiago to ask them to create a different group. From there, the Vicariate of Solidarity was formed as an integral part of the Church that would assume legal defense and human rights issues. The Vicariate began operating on January 1, 1976 as a part of the Catholic Church but only had jurisdiction in Santiago. It continued the work begun by the peace commission and aimed to be a voice against Augusto Pinochet’s arbitrary military dictatorship. It stood against the persecution of Chilean citizens and took care of the families of ‘desaparecidos’ – people who had been disappeared by the government. It received funds from international organizations and collated valuable information during the years of the military regime.

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