Others countries find ways to help themselves; can we?

It has been 10 years since Bishop Gerardi was a leader in ending human rights abuses in Guatemala - a fateful act of generosity that ended with his assassination.

A decade later, we can look at that case as an example of how absolute power corrupts absolutely -- and not just in Central America, but in all countries that threaten civil liberties, including the post-911 United States. When countries threaten civil liberties, they destroy the psychological self-worth of their citizens, mental health professionals say.

Perhaps no book illustrates the abuse of power, and the ultimate triumph over it, than "The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed Bishop Gerardi?" by Francisco Goldman. Some of the human rights abuses appeared to be sponsored or indirectly sponsored by the Guatemalan government prior to Gerardi's death.

But when he died, so did the country's self-worth - until those responsible were found and jailed, giving Guatemalan citizens a much needed psychological boost. But before that happened, a cover-up that the government indirectly endorsed dragged the nation through a period of degrading limbo during which people were killed and tortured.

It should be noted that, during that time, the United States lent a tacit endorsement of the government's actions - even as Guatemala's leaders participated indirectly in the cover-up of the murder - because they were anti-Communist, according to the book.

Gerardi was not so anti-Communist, thus sealing his fate.

Two decades ago, Gerardi was deported after his life was threatened, but the wicked leaders that supported the corrupt government lost power or died. So he came back, and drew up a report that outlined the abuses.

He threw a party following the release of the report, and the bishop acted as though his life was safe - even though, deep down, he thought otherwise.

On that night after the release, others were worried when he didn't show up for other festivities and then called to check on him. When he didn't respond, people worried.

Another church leader at Gerardi's parish noted he saw a light on that was normally turned off, but was on. He went to investigate and found Gerardi in a pool of blood in the garage. Later, this same church leader - who was eager to show people the body - was charged in connection with the murder.

Sometime before that discovery, local homeless saw a big shirtless man leave the garage. Then another man gave them food that appeared to be drugged because they fell asleep more quickly than usual.

The cover-up was on.

After the murder, the church leader, known as "Father Mario," was arrested. It appeared that government and the potential suspects in the crime - all of whom belonged to the Army - were trying to blame the church or the indigents for the crime. But they also knew something that others didn't want them to reveal: an unknown witness found a license plate number on the car in the garage that led to the connection with the Army and the suspects, who were ultimately charged in connection with the crime. With that looming over their heads, the suspects appeared doomed.

But the troubles were just beginning, really. Prosecutors were biased or scared, and some left the country. Friends of the suspects tried to say the murder was a product of a homosexual tryst and they tried to pin it to the clergyman, Father Mario.

Authorities tried to re-enact the crime. They went over the scene but couldn’t match much to anything. They performed an autopsy and determined that Mario wasn't directly responsible - even though the father spent lavishly after the murder and acted indifferently toward it.

Prosecutors eventually found the man - a taxi driver - who had the license plate number. Until that point, the man was continually getting death threats and he was even kidnapped once. He was considering exile.

Others connected to this case were either murdered or went into exile. A new judge really wanted to get to the bottom of murder, but he went into exile, too.

A break in the case occurred when independent investigators associated with the church and human rights groups found an Army man whose job was surveillance, and he kept records of what happened that night. A new special prosecutor also wanted to move forward on the case, and he found other witnesses, too. The prosecutor - who wore a bullet-proof vest and was accompanied by an army of security detail - discovered that one of the homeless people was actually an Army spy. He saw everything that was happening in the garage. He was told he might be implicated in the crime, but he went ahead and testified anyway.

The suspects were convicted, and sentenced to 30 years in jail.

Justice won, but it took more than just testimony. It took courage for people to rise against their government and determine that the best solutions to problems usually come from the people, and not from power.