3 years after the murder of Jesuits in Mexico, the Church cries out: violence and impunity are not our destiny

Next to commemorating three years of the murder of the Jesuit priests Javier Campos Morales and Joaquín César Mora Salazar, and the creation of the National Dialogue for Peace, the Catholic Church in Mexico said that “violence and impunity are not our destiny and that together we can build a country where no one is subject to himself”.

This was expressed by various Catholic leaders in a recent video toll, headed by the bishop of Cuernavaca and president of the Mexican Episcopate Conference (CEM), Mons. Ramón Castro Castro.

On this anniversary, said the prelate, we seek to “remember the victims of violence and renew our commitment for a Mexico where peace is possible.”

Denisse Arana, executive secretary of the episcopal dimension for the lay people (Delai) of the CEM, said later that “three years ago, the pain for the loss of our Jesuit brothers in the Sierra Tarahumara added to the more than three million people who have been touched directly by violence in the country, summoned us to say, enough.”

The researcher Mariali Cárdenas stressed for her part that “this pain became hope when thousands of Mexicans decided to join over our differences.”

The Jesuit priests Campos Morales and Mora Salazar were killed on June 20, 2022 within a Catholic Church in the Cerocahui community, in the region known as Sierra Tarahumara in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

The crime occurred when the Jesuits tried to protect a persecuted man inside the temple who later became the murderer of the three.

Fr. Luis Gerardo Moro Madrid SJ, provincial of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits) in Mexico, stressed that “faithful to his mission, until the last breath, the parents Javier Cartos and Joaquín Mora gave their lives for protecting others”.

“His sacrifice was not in vain, he became a seed of this movement that continues to grow today,” said Fr. Moro Madrid.

For his part, Mons. Héctor Pérez Villarreal, auxiliary bishop of the Primada Archdiocese of Mexico and general secretary of the CEM, stressed that “in these three years of walking together, we have accompanied victims, we have elevated silenced voices, we have created projects and we have woven networks in solidarity that cross the entire country.”

“We have cried with the seeking mothers, we have embraced communities, we have tended bridges, we have walked with young people, we have talked with authorities,” added Ana Paula Hernández, coordinator of the National Dialogue for Peace, ensuring that “in every step, where before there was fear, we have sown hope.”

Within that framework, as concrete actions, it was announced that on June 20 at 3:00 pm (local time), the bells of all Catholic churches in Mexico will play, as a “called by unity and peace.”

In addition, the achievements that have been achieved in these years will be reported, as well as the “route to follow” in Mexican states.

In each Mexican Catholic temple, it was announced, a “Mass for Peace” will be held, making “memory of the murdered and missing people in our country.”

Finally, on Sunday, June 22, a statement regarding the position of the National Dialogue for Peace will be read in all churches.

Mons. Pérez Villarreal said that “three years on the way, we continue to believe that Mexico can and should be different,” and stressed that “violence and impunity are not our destiny and that together we can build a country where no one is subject to itself.”