Mexico: One of the Least Safe Countries for Exercising Priestly Ministry

The priest reports that during the term of Andrés Manuel López Obrador, the current President of the United Mexican States who will be replaced by Claudia Sheinbaum this October 1, ten priests have been murdered in the country. Under his predecessor, Enrique Peña Nieto, 26 priests were killed, and under Felipe Calderón, who had preceded him, 17 clergymen were victims of homicide.

“For more than 18 years,” La Jornada explains, “the CCM has been producing annual reports on attacks against clergy and religious buildings. At the end of the next 6-year term, it will publish a new report.”

Insecurity does not only affect members of the Church and sacred buildings: the spiral of violence, linked to drug trafficking and the war between cartels, affects all of society, especially politicians during election periods.

Fr. Sotelo also denounces the ineffectiveness or passivity of the government. “Not only is the number of attacks recorded against Catholics elevated, but the response of justice in the face of these crimes remains nonexistent,” he explains on Aleteia, affirming that 90% of cases are not resolved.

As for places of worship, he gives an astonishing statistic: 26 places of worship have been desecrated or vandalized every week over the last six years, which makes 8,100 cases of vandalism against churches.

As for attacks—non-fatal ones—they amount to around 800 per year for a total of 4,800 in six years. Fr. Sotelo admits that “under the current administration, the number of assassinations of priests has decreased,” but we must add ten cases of violence to the ten priests killed.

He concludes his interview with Aleteia by stating that “the Church must show more than ever great commitment and great courage, because Mexico, already divided and polarized, is exposed to many organizations supported by the new [future] government, which will attempt to impose actions and principles contrary to the faith of the Catholic Church.”