Mexico: Hundreds of people say goodbye to Jesuits murdered in a church in Chihuahua

Between religious songs and rites of the Rarámuri indigenous people, to whom they gave their lives for decades, they were buried on Monday afternoon in the remote northern mexican town of Cerocahui the Jesuits Javier Campos and Joaquín Mora.

LOOK: Jesuit priests ask López Obrador to review security strategy

More than 600 inhabitants of the Sierra de Tarahumara, relatives, religious and authorities of the northern state of Chihuahua gathered at the Cerocahui temple to accompany the funeral acts of the two priests, aged 79 and 80, who now rest in a area near the church where last week they were shot to death along with a local tour guide whom they tried to help when he was fleeing from a criminal leader in the area.

During a mass, which lasted more than an hour, the work carried out for decades by the two Jesuits in the humble communities of the Sierra de Tarahumara and some anecdotes such as the one that occurred during the celebration of the 50 years of Mora were remembered. in which they filled his face with cake and he refused to have it removed to make the children laugh.

In the last goodbye to the religious, which began on Saturday with a mass in the city of Chihuahua and ended on Monday in Cerocahui, a phrase resounded that summarizes the criticism not only of the Jesuits but of the entire Catholic Church and a large part of the Mexican society to the government’s security strategy, which has not been able to reduce violence in more than three years: “Hugs are no longer enough to cover the bullets.”

It was pronounced by the Jesuit Javier Avila in allusion to the presidential motto that is committed to fighting insecurity with “hugs, not bullets”, during a body mass present on Saturday in the city of Chihuahua, a phrase that sparked applause from the attendees and left without voice for the emotion to the partner of the murdered.

From there, the coffins began the ascent to the mountains, with stops in several towns, through mountains of winding roads, of great poverty and marginalization and where the violence of organized crime, which cuts down these forests to plant poppies and marijuana and uses the deep cannons to operate without being seen, has only grown in recent years, according to the victims.

Meanwhile, the authorities continue to search for the alleged murderer, identified by a surviving priest as a known local criminal leader who was at large in the area although he had an arrest warrant from 2018 for the murder of an American tourist.

The first stop on the funeral procession route was Creel, the entrance to the mountains. Then the floats went up the ravines little by little, stopping in other towns amid a strong deployment of security forces until they reached the interior of the church where they had been shot to death.

At each stop, indigenous rituals were repeated that, according to their beliefs, serve to restore order to life and raise their souls to heaven.

Upon reaching Cerocahui, men, women and children flanked the road to greet them with balloons and white flags, a symbol of peace that is elusive in this mountain range.

In the last five years, human rights defenders, indigenous leaders, environmentalists, a tourist and a reporter who had published numerous articles on the links between drug traffickers and politicians have been murdered in this region of the state of Chihuahua – bordering Sonora and Sinaloa. local.

That is why in recent days the Jesuits have denounced with more force something that they have been repeating for years: the “shameful impunity” that exists not only in the Tarahumara but throughout Mexico, “a country invaded by violence,” in the words of Father Ávila .

But President Andrés Manuel López Obrador insists that his strategy is correct, although so far in his administration, almost 124,000 murders have been registered, more than in the entire six-year term with which the so-called frontal war against the drug cartels began. President Felipe Calderón (2006-2012).

“Our tone is peaceful but loud and clear,” Father Ávila insisted at the Chihuahua mass. “We ask the president to review his security strategy.”

There was no answer. Only the strumming of guitars, the prayers and the sound of butterfly cocoons with small stones that are tied around the dancers’ ankles while the Jesuits repeated their commitment to continue working for justice and human rights.

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.