The Church remembers Mariano Azuela as a man of faith and exemplary servant of justice

As a man who led “an exemplary life of faith”, the bishops of Mexico remembered Mariano Azuela Güitrón, former president of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), who died on Friday, May 16 at age 89.

The Mexican Episcopate Conference (CEM) and the Primado Archbishop of Mexico, Cardinal Carlos Aguiar Retes, expressed their condolences to the jurist’s family and friends through a statement released on May 21. In it, they recognized that “their delivery in the public service, particularly in the field of the delivery of justice,” was a constant throughout his career.

The bishops described him as “a complete, humble human being, delivered and with an exemplary life of faith, family and professional service.”

In addition to raising a prayer to God for their eternal rest, they urged God’s people to host and imitate “testimonies of faith, of charity in the delivery, that they feed the happy hope so necessary, particularly in these times”, as the one offered by Mariano Azuela Güitrón throughout his life.

Who was Mariano Azuela Güitrón?

According to the CEM statement, Azuela served as Minister of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation – the highest body of the Mexican Judiciary, with the Faculties of the Constitutional Court – from 1983 to 2009.

During that period, he assumed the presidency of the Court between January 2, 2003 and December 15, 2006, in the six -year term of President Vicente Fox, consolidating himself as a key figure in the judicial history of the country.

His teaching vocation began in 1958 and remained over decades. He was a professor in various Catholic institutions, among them, for more than thirty years at the Ibero -American University, linked to the Society of Jesus; the Mexico University Center (CUM), of the Marist brothers, for more than twenty -five years; and the Pan American University, linked to the personal prelature of Opus Dei.

Among its most outstanding contributions is the work Azuela vs. Adzethat he compiled and collects the great debate on religious freedom, especially in the Mexican context.

According to the statement, he also collaborated in the media with “articles and essays in different legal and Catholic thought magazines.”

His commitment transcended the legal field. He actively participated in various civil and ecclesial institutions, such as the Aguirre, Azuela, Chávez Jauregui Foundation, human pro-rights, AC; the Mexican Institute of Christian Social Doctrine (IMDOSOC), where he was a professor and advisor for many years; and the Social Union of Entrepreneurs of Mexico (USEM), among others.