Catholic Church calls for end to “criminalization” after priest murder in Mexico
Nine religious figures have been killed in Mexico in the last five years, according to figures from the Catholic Church.
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The Catholic Church on Monday demanded an end to the “criminalization” of priests and missionaries in Mexico, following the murder of indigenous priest and human rights defender Marcelo Pérez in the southern state of Chiapas .
Pérez, 51 , who had been granted protective measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), was shot on Sunday after officiating a mass in the city of San Cristóbal de las Casas .
“Stop the criminalization and persecution of priests, missionaries, lay brothers and lay women, and defenders of human rights,” the Diocese of San Cristóbal , to which the priest was assigned, urged in a statement.
Originally from the Tzotzil Mayan ethnic group, Pérez had received threats allegedly for his denunciations against drug trafficking and the violence that has shaken Chiapas, the scene of a struggle between organized crime groups.
In its statement to the government and civil society, the diocese also demanded that the crime be clarified “until the true intellectual and material authors are identified.”
Early Monday, Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum said that local prosecutors are investigating the murder and are coordinating information with church authorities and the government of Chiapas.
“We are coordinating to be able to advance the investigation and ensure that this crime does not go unpunished,” the president said at her regular press conference.
The Diocese of San Cristóbal said that because of his activism, Pérez suffered “a long period of threats, persecution, harassment, slander, defamation and even an unfounded arrest warrant.”
Priests murdered in Mexico
Nine religious figures have been killed in Mexico in the last five years, according to figures from the Catholic Church.
One of the crimes that sparked condemnations inside and outside the country was that of the Jesuit priests Javier Campos Morales and Joaquín César Mora Salazar , on June 20, 2022, in the state of Chihuahua (north).
The priests were executed inside their parish by a local criminal boss who was chasing another man after a fight.
Since December 2006 , when a controversial anti-drug military operation was launched, there have been more than 450,000 violent deaths and tens of thousands of disappearances in Mexico, according to official figures.
