Agenzia Fides REPORT –Pastors authorized to cancel liturgical celebrations to protect population from violence
The Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM) has authorized the priests of the areas hardest hit by the violence plaguing the country to suspend celebrations or change Mass schedules in order to "protect the population." The CEM says: "We must avoid situations that may occur, avoiding the danger and taking appropriate measures to protect the public" Efe Agency was told by Father Manuel Corral, Director of Public Relations of the CEM.The Secretary General of the CEM and the Bishop of Texcoco, Bishop Victor Rene Rodriguez, announced during the Plenary Assembly of the CEM that every pastor can change the schedule of Masses, courses, and other pastoral activities in the afternoon, if necessary, but in no case should they abandon their places. In this year 2010 alone, the struggle between clans in drug trafficking in Mexico has caused about 10,000 violent deaths, according to the press.For now, this provision covers the northern states such as Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Sinaloa, said Father Corral, although the situation in some parishes in other areas such as Michoacán, Veracruz, and the upper area (Sierra) of Puebla has already led some priests to change the time of the Mass, or even cancel a celebration, to prevent acts of violence.Local sources of Fides, which for safety reasons are not cited, say that many priests are blackmailed or threatened because they help the people most in need and other priests say nothing to their community although they are threatened by known or suspected members of clans or gangs. "It is not always easy to say no to the baptism of a child of a family that works with these gangs, or continue to celebrate Mass when you recognize certain figures not well-liked by the authorities entering the church, or bless a house or car of a person who seems very good, but who belongs to these groups that are dangerous to society," the source of Fides says. http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27803&lan=eng
The Mexican Bishops' Conference (CEM) has authorized the priests of the areas hardest hit by the violence plaguing the country to suspend celebrations or change Mass schedules in order to "protect the population." The CEM says: "We must avoid situations that may occur, avoiding the danger and taking appropriate measures to protect the public" Efe Agency was told by Father Manuel Corral, Director of Public Relations of the CEM.The Secretary General of the CEM and the Bishop of Texcoco, Bishop Victor Rene Rodriguez, announced during the Plenary Assembly of the CEM that every pastor can change the schedule of Masses, courses, and other pastoral activities in the afternoon, if necessary, but in no case should they abandon their places. In this year 2010 alone, the struggle between clans in drug trafficking in Mexico has caused about 10,000 violent deaths, according to the press.For now, this provision covers the northern states such as Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon, and Sinaloa, said Father Corral, although the situation in some parishes in other areas such as Michoacán, Veracruz, and the upper area (Sierra) of Puebla has already led some priests to change the time of the Mass, or even cancel a celebration, to prevent acts of violence.Local sources of Fides, which for safety reasons are not cited, say that many priests are blackmailed or threatened because they help the people most in need and other priests say nothing to their community although they are threatened by known or suspected members of clans or gangs. "It is not always easy to say no to the baptism of a child of a family that works with these gangs, or continue to celebrate Mass when you recognize certain figures not well-liked by the authorities entering the church, or bless a house or car of a person who seems very good, but who belongs to these groups that are dangerous to society," the source of Fides says. http://www.fides.org/aree/news/newsdet.php?idnews=27803&lan=eng
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