Two Catholic Priests Murdered In Mexico

Discussion in 'In the News' started by Diane Lane, Sep 20, 2016.

  1. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    It's becoming almost commonplace to read stories (at least for those who seek out actual news) of attacks, kidnappings and murders in Mexico, but it is unusual for the targets of those attacks/kidnappings/murders to be Catholic priests. This happened in an area known for such violence, but the fact that the victims were priests is particularly chilling, at least to me. Here's a link with more information.
     
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  2. Ken Anderson

    Ken Anderson Senior Staff
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    Maybe I'm completely out of line, and possibly even ignorant on the subject, but hasn't the Catholic Church been active in political movements contrary to the governments of several Central and South American countries over the years? I'm not saying that they don't have a right to do that, and it might even be commendable, but risks follow such actions. I realize that the article refers to drug gangs but haven't drug gangs been pretty much synonymous with political activity in Mexico, as well? I know there's a lot going on in Mexico that we don't hear about because I have a lot of friends on the border, and they tell me that military-style gunfights are not unusual even in the country's border cities. A while ago, I posted a video that a friend of mine took in Progresso, Mexico, which was not a particularly dangerous border city when I lived there. But in this video, there were groups of civilians in pickup trucks with machine guns mounted to the back, like you see in the MidEast, shooting it out with the Mexican military on the streets of Progresso. I am just wondering if there might be more to this than a crime, or if they might have been involved in something more than administering the sacraments and saying mass.
     
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  3. Corie Henson

    Corie Henson Veteran Member
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    I agree with @Ken Anderson that the Catholic church has been meddling in politics. In the recent presidential elections in May, the priests were against Mr. Duterte who won by landslide and now our president. And with Mr. Duterte's vigorous campaign against illegal drugs, the priests are again harping because of the daily killings of suspected people engaged in the drug trade. However, it is unimaginable that the government will retaliate by killing a priest because the Philippines is a Catholic country of more than 80% maybe, and no one in his right mind would kill a priest for that cause.

    But I understand that Mexico has a different culture and money is more of their priority hence the drug trade has proliferated.
     
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  4. Diane Lane

    Diane Lane Veteran Member
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    To be honest, I don't pay much attention to the politics of the church, and especially those of Pope Francis. I don't know exactly what they've been up to, but it's not out of the range of possibilities to say they may have tried to insert themselves in some sort of conflict. Years ago, I would have said about Mexico what @Corie Henson said about the Philippines, but Mexico has changed a lot. I've seen stories and some video clips like the one you mentioned, and it's way too close for comfort. There have also been issues in South America, such as attacks of nuns in Argentina, at least one rape of a nun in Bolivia, two nuns murdered here in the U.S., and issues elsewhere in the world. Apparently the attack in Bolivia was possibly related to drug gangs desiring to take control of church owned land. The men who raped the nun in Bolivia were dressed in police clothing, and afterwards, they stole her truck. There's so much corruption in many countries that it seems the gangs are intermingled with the governments, and tend to do whatever they want, unfortunately.
     
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