Catholic Bishops of Mexico Decry "...levels of inhuman cruelty in executions and massacres..." and Call for Peace of Christ

«My peace I leave you, my peace I give you, not as the world gives, do not let your hearts be troubled nor be afraid»

Jn 14, 27

As pastors of the Catholic community, we Mexican Bishops address the People of Mexico with deep concern for the growing violence suffered by our beloved Country and with great sadness for the loss of thousands of innocent lives that fill entire families with mourning.Crime has spread everywhere , disrupting the daily life of the entire society, affecting productive activities in the cities and in the countryside, exerting pressure with extortion against those who work honestly in the markets, in schools, in small, medium and large companies; they have taken over the streets, neighborhoods and entire towns, as well as roads, highways and highways and, most seriously, they have come to demonstrate with levels of inhuman cruelty in executions and massacres that have made our country one of the most insecure and violent places in the world .

The recent murder of a civilian and two Jesuit priests inside the Catholic temple of Cerocahui, in the Tarahumara region of Chihuahua, is just one more example of the lack of values ​​and sensitivity that has been reached, losing everything respect for human dignity . Official data tells us of almost 122,000 murders at the hands of criminals during the three and a half years. How many murders in Mexico! Pope Francis has expressed with pain in the General Audience of June 22 of this year. How much evil and social disorder! we express ourselves as Mexican bishops.

We recognize that as a Church we have not done enough in the evangelization of peoples and that it is necessary to redouble efforts . Much remains to be done in the reconstruction of the social fabric, from the pastoral work that is ours. We reaffirm our commitment expressed in our first transversal axis of the 2021-2024 pastoral project: THE CONSTRUCTION OF PEACE . Therefore, we call on all the people of God, especially priests, religious, catechists, evangelizers and other pastoral agents, to join in the work to materialize the project of PEACE of Christ.

We want to express our closeness and solidarity with all the victims , beyond our political or social differences, recognizing that we are all brothers - We want to join the thousands of voices of citizens of good will who ask for a stop to this situation. Stop! We cannot be indifferent or oblivious to what is affecting us all.

Given the seriousness of the events, we make a call to the Federal Government and to the different levels of authorities, in accordance with the pronouncement that has been made by the Senate of the Republic: it is time to review the security strategies that are failing. It is time to listen to the citizens , to the voices of thousands of relatives of the victims, of the murdered and disappeared, to the police forces mistreated by crime. It is time to listen to academics and researchers, to the denunciations of the media, to all political forces, civil society and religious associations. We believe that it is not useful to deny realityand neither blame past times for what we have to solve now . Listening to us does not make anyone weak, on the contrary, it strengthens us as a Nation .

We are all Mexicans, we all need to live in peace and harmony . It is the responsibility of the rulers to apply the law with justice to eradicate impunity, respecting human rights, but ensuring the security of citizens and social peace. As Mexican bishops in unity with the People of Mexico of which we are also a part, we respectfully call on our political authorities to convene a national dialogue to undertake intelligent and comprehensive actions in order to achieve peace through joint participation. We believe that “peace is possible, that it has to be possible” . In this task, all citizens of good will can be allies. Let's not miss this opportunity!

Mexico City, June 23, 2022

+ HE Bishop Rogelio Cabrera López

Archbishop of Monterrey President of the CEM

+ HE Bishop Gustavo Rodríguez Vega + HE Bishop Ramón Castro Castro

Archbishop of Yucatán Vice-President of the CEM Bishop of Cuernavaca Secretary General of the CEM

+ HE Bishop Jorge Alberto Cavazos Arizpe + HE Bishop Jaime Calderón Calderón

Archbishop Elect of San Luis Potosí Bishop of Tapachula

General Treasurer of the CEM First Member

+ HE Archbishop Enrique Díaz Díaz + HE Archbishop Dagoberto Sosa Arriaga

Bishop of Irapuato Second Vocal Bishop of Tlapa Province of Acapulco

+ HE Bishop J. Guadalupe Torres Campos + HE Bishop Francisco Moreno Barrón

Bishop of Ciudad Juárez Province of Chihuahua Archbishop of Tijuana Province of Baja California

+ HE Bishop Oscar Armando Campos Contreras + HE Bishop Jorge Estrada Solórzano
Bishop of Ciudad Guzmán Province of Guadalajara Bishop of Gómez Palacio Province of Durango

+ HE Bishop Rutilo Felipe Pozos Lorenzini + HE Bishop Domingo Díaz Martínez
Bishop of Cd. Obregón Province of Hermosillo Archbishop of Tulancingo Province of Hidalgo

+ HE Bishop Carlos Enrique Samaniego López + HE Bishop Enrique Sánchez Martínez

Auxiliary Bishop of Mexico Province of Mexico Bishop of Nuevo Laredo Province of Monterrey

+ HE Msgr. Gerardo Díaz Vázquez + HE Msgr. Florencio Armando Colín Cruz

Bishop of Tacámbaro Province of Morelia Bishop of Puerto Escondido Province of Antequera Oaxaca

+ HE Bishop Tomás López Durán + HE Bishop Margarito Salazar Cárdenas

Auxiliary Bishop of Puebla Province of Puebla Bishop of Matehuala Province of San Luis Potosí

+ HE Mons. Héctor Luis Morales Sánchez + HE Mons. Raúl Gómez González

Bishop of Nezahualcóyotl Province of Tlalnepantla Archbishop of Toluca Province of Toluca

+ HE Bishop Eduardo Cervantes Merino + HE Bishop Pedro Pablo Elizondo Cárdenas

Bishop of Orizaba Province of Xalapa Bishop of Cancún Chetumal Province of Yucatán

Source: https://cem.org.mx/mensaje-de-los-obispos-de-mexico-por-la-paz/ - Image Palacio de Bellas Artes