In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:

Acknowledgments M any people in many places generously lent me their time, assistance , and support while I was writing this book. At the outset, I must thank the residents of Finca 11 and Finca 6 in Río Frío, Sarapiquí, Costa Rica. It was they who, long before I had the idea to undertake a formal investigation of the Costa Rican Catholic Church, introduced me to their beautiful country with warmth and hospitality. The success of my eventual research in Costa Rica was guaranteed by the collegial support and friendship of several Costa Rican scholars, and especially Rosa María Pochet, J. Amando Robles, and Erick Solera. They encouraged me with their genuine enthusiasm and enlightened me with their insightful comments on my project. For their continued friendship and hospitality during all my trips to Costa Rica, I must also thank Rosmery Durán Cosio, mi segunda mamá Anneth Quiros, and the Quesada Arias family. Many of my best memories of Costa Rica are associated with these dear friends. The friendly and knowledgeable staff members at several Costa Rican institutions, libraries, and archives were also always willing to help la machita from Canada with any number of tasks —especially photocopying ! I am particularly grateful to those people associated with the Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales at the Universidad de Costa Rica, the Archivo Curia Metropolitana, Eco Católico, the Conferencia Episcopal de Costa Rica, the Biblioteca Nacional Miguel Obregón, and the libraries at the Universidad de Costa Rica and the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica. Of course, there would be no book at all if it were not for the co-operation of the Catholic Church agents I interviewed. Without exception, they were forthright with their comments and generous with their time. In particular, many of them went out of their way to help me attain the information, contacts, and even lodging I sought. Deserving of special mention in this regard are Hernán Hermosilla and Gustavo Blanco of the Asociación Servicios de Promoción Laboral, Padre Eduardo Ramírez in Limón, Padre Claudio Solano of the Escuela Social Juan XXIII, Padre Jesús Doncel in Río Frío, and Mario Solis of the Centro Coordinador de Evangelizaci ón y Realidad Social. In Canada, the publication of this book was made possible with the help of a grant from the Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences, through the Aid to Scholarly Publications Programme (ASPP), using funds provided by the Social Sciences and Humanities xi 00_sawchuk_front_mat.qxd 2004/09/16 15:55 PM Page xi Research Council of Canada (SSHRC). I wish to further acknowledge the financial assistance received from the Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) Research Office, through a grant partly funded by WLU operating funds, and partly by the SSHRC Institutional Grant awarded to WLU. I was also fortunate to receive previous financial assistance from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada in the form of a doctoral fellowship and from the University of Toronto in the form of various travel grants and fellowships. It was also at the University of Toronto where I met many individuals whose friendship has so enriched my life and academic odyssey: Michele Murray, Annette Nierobisz, Jane Barter Moulaison, Phil Harland, Kristen Sweder, Catherine Caufield, and Arthur McCalla. They are good friends and inspiring scholars all, and many of them have helped to make the University's Centre for the Study of Religion a most vibrant academic community . During the course of this project, I also received much advice and assistance from several faculty members at the centre —most notably from Marsha Hewitt, Roger O'Toole, David Raby, and C. Thomas McIntire. During the final stages of this project, Theodore de Bruyn, of the Canadian Corporation for Studies in Religion (CCSR), W.E. Hewitt, of the University of Western Ontario, and the anonymous readers who reviewed the manuscript on behalf of the ASPP and the CCSR made several valuable suggestions that have improved the resulting book. My colleagues in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at WLU were also a welcome source of friendship and advice during this time. Nicole Henderson, of the Department of Political Science, served as a discerning proofreader. I must further thank the efficient and pleasant staff at Wilfrid Laurier University Press and especially Carroll Klein, whose wise counsel and extra effort were most appreciated and admired. The responsibility for any errors or omissions contained within the present work rests, nonetheless, entirely with...

Share