Two Jesuit priests are murdered inside a church in Mexico and their bodies are taken

Two Jesuit priests were murdered this Monday in their temple in the Cerocahui community, in the Sierra Tarahumara region, in the state Mexican of Chihuahua (north), denounced this Tuesday the Society of Jesus.

“We denounce the murder of our brothers Javier Campos-Morales (…) Y Joaquin Cesar Mora Salazar”, the religious order said in a statement.

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“We condemn these violent acts, we demand justice and the recovery of the bodies of our brothers who were taken from the temple by armed people”he added.

the president of MexicoAndrés Manuel López Obrador, confirmed the crime which, he said, It happened when armed men entered the town church chasing another person who, apparently, was trying to take refuge in the church.

“They murdered him, the priests came out and apparently they were also murdered. We are now dealing with this matter.” added the president in his daily press conference.

López Obrador acknowledged that several municipalities in the Sierra de Chihuahua suffer from “a significant presence of organized crime.”

“It seems that there is already information about the possible perpetrators of these crimes”reported the president.

According to experts, the Sierra de chihuahua It is an important route for the transfer of drugs to the United States, which is why it is violently disputed by drug cartels.

The Mexican Province of the Society of Jesus demanded the adoption of “protective measures to safeguard the lives” of the Jesuits, nuns, laity and the entire Cerocahui community.

He denounced that these crimes are not “isolated” acts because “every day men and women are arbitrarily deprived of life.”

“The Sierra Tarahumara, like many other regions of the country, faces conditions of violence and oblivion that have not been reversed”added the Society of Jesus.

The Mexican Episcopate Conference also condemned the “tragedy” and demanded “a prompt investigation”in addition to security for the country’s priests.

In Mexicomembers of various religious orders must act as defenders and mediators between the inhabitants of their communities and the hitmen of organized crime who operate there.

In states like Michoacán (west) or Guerrero (south) some of them have opted for dialogue with drug traffickers as a way to pacify these regions, usually impoverished and with little state presence.

Some 30 priests have been murdered in the last decade in Mexico, according to the NGO Centro Católico Multimedial.

Mexico is shaken by a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking in the midst of which more than 340,000 people have been killed since December 2006, according to official figures.

Source: Elcomercio

Ronald Payne

I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.