Mexico’s ongoing struggle against organised crime affects all Mexicans, but especially the most vulnerable groups in rural areas, including minority Christian denominations. Christians who actively engage in transforming society constitute a threat to drug cartels and other criminal groups. In indigenous-heavy regions, those who convert from indigenous traditional beliefs to non-traditional Protestant denominations face persecution. Members of the Catholic Renewal Movement have also been targeted.
Mexican pastor survives assassination attempt
A Mexican pastor who survived an assassination attempt in the notorious border city of Juarez in June says he was targeted because his church’s work is seen to negatively impact upon the efforts of drug cartels. A hitman entered the pastor’s home on 12 June, making him kneel down on […]
The Mexican bishop who negotiates with the cartels
A bishop in the Mexican state of Guerrero, notorious for its narcotics production and drug traffickers, has developed his own way of dealing with cartels – by negotiating, La Croix reports. Local communities frequently suffer because of the conflicts between rival gangs. In 2017, there were seven murders per day […]
Mexican pastor killed, nine years on from son’s murder
A Mexican pastor interviewed last year by World Watch Monitor was shot dead earlier this month in another exhibition of lawlessness in the troubled city of Juarez, which is just across the border from El Paso, Texas. Eduardo ‘Lalo’ Garcia was shot at least six times on 8 June, as […]
Three more priests become victims of gang violence in Mexico
Two priests were killed in separate attacks in their churches in Mexico last week, bringing the number of clergy murdered in the last six years to 23, the Catholic News Agency reported. A third priest, kidnapped earlier this month, was found dead after suffering a suspected heart attack. Fr. Juan […]
Two priests murdered in Mexico as gang attacks against religious leaders continue
In the early morning of Monday 5 February, two priests were shot dead while travelling on the Iguala-Taxco highway of Mexico’s notorious Guerrero state. Fr. Germain Muñiz Garcia and Fr. Iván Añorve Jaimes, from a church in Veracruz state, were reported killed by the Catholic News Agency. Their attackers fled […]
Mexico a ‘case study in government inaction’ as third priest killed this year
A third Mexican priest this year has been killed following a violent attack at his parish just outside Mexico City. Luis Lopez Villa, 71, was killed by intruders at his San Isidro Labrador parish in Nezahualcóyotl on 5 July. An initial police report said his hands and feet were bound […]
Building resistance to Mexico’s culture of corruption
While most people think of Syria or Iraq as the deadliest places on the planet, Latin America has recently fought its way into the conversation as the global epicentre of deadly crimes committed outside war zones. In 2015, 43 of the world’s 50 most dangerous cities were located in Latin […]
Mexico still ‘most dangerous country to be a priest’
A bishop forced to pay protection money to use his own cathedral is the latest example of why, for the eighth year running, Mexico is considered the most dangerous country to be a Catholic priest. The Catholic Media Centre’s latest annual report says at least 15 priest have been murdered […]
Majority-Christian Mexico still struggling to ensure religious freedom for rural converts
As many as 90% of Mexico’s population would identify as Christian, yet not all of them are free to practise their faith. Some come under pressure from drug cartels, either by being members of churches who meet regularly and carry money for giving offerings there and are therefore seen as […]
In choosing Christianity, Mexican tribals risk alienation, eviction from their communities
A giant statue of a deer stands high above the Mexican town of Bolaños, a symbol of its significance for the locals, who believe a deer-god protects them. The belief dates back to when the Wixárika tribe first arrived in the area, in the western state of Jalisco, and encountered […]