Mexican bishop puts church in fight against drug cartels
When it comes to promoting the justice and peace of God the psalm for this Sunday’s Mass says will be good news for the nations and especially the poor, one Roman Catholic bishop in Mexico is making a personal effort. In what has been the bloodiest year since 1998 for drug violence . . .
When it comes to promoting the justice and peace of God the psalm for this Sunday’s Mass says will be good news for the nations and especially the poor, one Roman Catholic bishop in Mexico is making a personal effort. In what has been the bloodiest year since 1998 for drug violence in the state of Michoacan, the 75-year-old bishop of Apatzingan, Miguel Patiño Velazquez, has decided that “now is the moment to be one voice for our poor people, for our society.”
Velazquez has called out the Knights Templar drug mafia, which takes its name from the Catholic medieval crusading military religious order and claims for its part to be a champion of the poor as well. Their "code" calls for a “fight against materialism, injustice, and tyranny” and the protection of "the oppressed, the widow, and the orphan.”
Knights Templar members have been known to wear ceremonial white cloaks with red crosses and to spread the religious writings and convene to hear the multi-hour sermons of their leader, Nazario Moreno, whom federal officials say they killed in December 2010 but who is widely assumed to be alive. According to residents and government officials, however, the Knights are also brutal killers and methamphetamine dealers who extort everyone from big corporations to street vendors throughout Michoacan.
In October, Patiño, who is from the Michoacan town of La Piedad, cited the battling drug gangs, naming the Knights Templar in print and in interviews, as a main threat. He wrote of the killings, kidnappings, and extortion and how whole families were fleeing the violence; how residents were forced to sign petitions asking the army to leave; and how the authorities had not captured a single mafia leader “even though they know where they are.”
In a state where some people are afraid to even whisper the name Knights Templar, the bishop’s comments drew national attention, in part, a Michoacan security official said, because with so many local government officials on the take, “the church is the only voice left with any credibility.”
The church’s role in the conflict, though, appears to be more complicated. It has been accused of supporting residents in a handful of villages near Apatzingan who have chosen to fight the Knights Templar rather than wait for a more aggressive response by the Mexican government, even though federal authorities have deployed thousands of troops to Michoacan and replaced customs officials and more than 100 local police officers.
“The priests are channeling money and food to the self-defense groups,” said a security official. The church denied this material involvement but has spoken in favor of the militias’ efforts.
Patiño’s comments also raised fears that the bishop, scheduled to retire soon, could become a target. One of the priests from his diocese was slain last year in an apparent dispute with the cartels. The bishop, however, said he worries for all people: the mother of a soldier, the narco, the vigilante. “We should all look for peace,” he said.
Homily hint: Jesus personally involved himself in confronting oppression rather than merely preaching or making statements against it. How can you and your faith community stretch yourselves to answer God's call to resist evil and increase the good in the world?
Velazquez has called out the Knights Templar drug mafia, which takes its name from the Catholic medieval crusading military religious order and claims for its part to be a champion of the poor as well. Their "code" calls for a “fight against materialism, injustice, and tyranny” and the protection of "the oppressed, the widow, and the orphan.”
Knights Templar members have been known to wear ceremonial white cloaks with red crosses and to spread the religious writings and convene to hear the multi-hour sermons of their leader, Nazario Moreno, whom federal officials say they killed in December 2010 but who is widely assumed to be alive. According to residents and government officials, however, the Knights are also brutal killers and methamphetamine dealers who extort everyone from big corporations to street vendors throughout Michoacan.
In October, Patiño, who is from the Michoacan town of La Piedad, cited the battling drug gangs, naming the Knights Templar in print and in interviews, as a main threat. He wrote of the killings, kidnappings, and extortion and how whole families were fleeing the violence; how residents were forced to sign petitions asking the army to leave; and how the authorities had not captured a single mafia leader “even though they know where they are.”
In a state where some people are afraid to even whisper the name Knights Templar, the bishop’s comments drew national attention, in part, a Michoacan security official said, because with so many local government officials on the take, “the church is the only voice left with any credibility.”
The church’s role in the conflict, though, appears to be more complicated. It has been accused of supporting residents in a handful of villages near Apatzingan who have chosen to fight the Knights Templar rather than wait for a more aggressive response by the Mexican government, even though federal authorities have deployed thousands of troops to Michoacan and replaced customs officials and more than 100 local police officers.
“The priests are channeling money and food to the self-defense groups,” said a security official. The church denied this material involvement but has spoken in favor of the militias’ efforts.
Patiño’s comments also raised fears that the bishop, scheduled to retire soon, could become a target. One of the priests from his diocese was slain last year in an apparent dispute with the cartels. The bishop, however, said he worries for all people: the mother of a soldier, the narco, the vigilante. “We should all look for peace,” he said.
Homily hint: Jesus personally involved himself in confronting oppression rather than merely preaching or making statements against it. How can you and your faith community stretch yourselves to answer God's call to resist evil and increase the good in the world?
Source: An article by Joshua Partlow and Gabriela Martinez for the Washington Post