Religion: Blood and Land

In recent months, the dirt-poor peasants of Honduras have invaded farms and blockaded bridges to force the government to fulfill its promises to redistribute the land. June 25 was a memorable day in their campaign. While the army broke up "hunger marches" in various regions, wealthy ranchers, backed by soldiers, stormed a training center for peasant leaders in Juticalpa, the dusty little capital of Olancho province, and killed six people.

The same day, two Roman Catholic Franciscan missionaries mysteriously disappeared: Fathers Michael Jerome Cypher, 35, of Medford, Wisc., a parish priest who had...