Gossip Can Be Poisonous

October 28, 2015

Lourdes couldn’t step foot outside. But she was neither being held against her will nor living in a war-torn country; instead, she was becoming a prisoner in her own home because of the hurtful words and actions she persistently received from her next-door neighbors.


Lourdes had four children with her husband and was happily married. But when her husband, hard up for work in Tegucigalpa, moved to the United States seeking greater income to send back to his family, Lourdes became prey for her gossiping neighbors.

Every day, when Lourdes so much as ventured outside her home, her neighbors started rumors and accused her of looking for other men. They even called up her husband in the United States to tell him their false stories about Lourdes’ supposed infidelities. Lourdes’ husband had great trust in his wife and didn’t believe the neighbors; he told her to simply ignore the spiteful comments. But each mean-spirited word ate away at her more.


“She stopped eating, taking care of her children, going to church—all the things that used to fill her life with joy,” commented Narzaria Romero, a psychologist who works for the ASJ (formerly known as AJS)-supported Gideon Project. When Lourdes arrived at the Gideon Center she was struggling with deep depression and had attempted suicide.


“I began realizing that the damage being done to my life was too much,” said Lourdes. “I wouldn’t even leave my room for fear of having my neighbors hear me!” With the steady help of Gideon counselors, Lourdes through each therapy session began to work toward regaining her self-worth and seeing the truth behind her neighbors’ false accusations.


“Leaving my house isn’t a problem anymore,” she says with a smile. Her neighbors noticed a difference in her attitude and ceased their belligerent behavior once seeing it no longer kept her down. Now, she confidently waves a morning greeting and they simply return the gesture.


Thanks to the support of the Gideon Project, women like Lourdes are regaining their sense of self-worth, thus becoming empowered to make their neighborhoods better places.


December 2, 2025
ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US Congratulate the Honduran People,  Call for Full and Transparent Results As sister organizations committed to justice, peace and hope in Honduras, ASJ-Canada and ASJ-US extend our deepest congratulations to the people of Honduras on the peaceful conduct of their national elections on November 30, 2025. With the initial tally showing an extraordinarily close vote, we call on election authorities to do what is necessary to ensure a transparent count of the remaining ballots in order to guarantee public trust in the final outcome. We commend the Honduran voters for their dedication to democratic participation and their commitment to shaping the future of their country through civic engagement. We also recognize the efforts of electoral authorities, civil society organizations, the international community and the thousands of volunteer observers who worked to ensure a transparent, orderly, and secure process. We are especially proud of our sister organization, ASJ-Honduras, for their unwavering commitment to democracy demonstrated through their electoral observation efforts, their analysis activities, and their consistent call for a fair and orderly process. Now that such a process has been achieved, the work turns to counting the votes with accuracy and transparency. The results remain close, increasing the possibility of a contested result. We support the work of the election officials at the National Electoral Council to give Hondurans confidence in the final results by conducting their count with rigor and transparency. We remain hopeful that the spirit of peaceful participation in the democratic process embraced by the electorate will carry forward into the post-election period to come. We look forward to continued collaboration with ASJ-Honduras as we all work together toward a just and hopeful future for all Hondurans. Matthew Van Geest President, Board of Directors ASJ-Canada Russ Jacobs President, Board of Directors ASJ-US
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Dear friend,  I couldn’t stop looking at the picture. Of course, there had been plenty of inspiring photos from this summer’s Prayer Walk for Peace and Democracy. The sea of blue and white rising and falling as hundreds of thousands walked the Honduran hills through Tegucigalpa, flowing like a never-ending stream. Catholic nuns praying their rosaries alongside Pentecostals dancing in the streets. But the picture that still knocks me flat is the closeup. The one of the two men standing side by side (picture enclosed). They are exhausted, and the shorter collapses into the taller. The tears mostly hold joy and relief, but they are mingled with something darker. After all, there had been threats—promises of harm done to themselves and their loved ones if they led their followers through the streets of Honduras in prayer. Despite the fear and intimidation, Pastor Gerardo Irías and Monsignor José Vicente Nácher forged ahead. They knew Honduras needed unity and, above all, prayer before the looming November 2025 presidential elections. As an ASJ supporter, you know that these kinds of threats aren’t out of the ordinary, and your support has helped slow and reverse violence in Honduras. Today, I am writing to share a way you can continue standing with brave Hondurans like Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José in hope. The Evangelical pastor and the Catholic archbishop put the word out as widely as they could to their churches, hoping to mobilize 20,000 to walk and pray. Instead, an estimated 230,000 walked in the capital of Tegucigalpa alone. It was a historic moment. And without your past support for ASJ, it may have never happened. After all, two years prior, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José didn’t even know each other’s names. They first met in 2023 at ASJ’s offices. They were two of many civil society leaders convened by ASJ to discuss safeguarding democracy– especially before the election in 2025. It was at that meeting that they shook each other’s hand and learned each other’s name. It was at that meeting–and many subsequent meetings–where old religious prejudices began to be replaced by trust and mutual affection. So, when the moment came this summer to act, Pastor Gerardo and Monsignor José knew what they had to do. And they knew that they had to do it together.
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