Priest and advocate for peace killed in Mexico

On Sunday, 20 October, Fr Marcelo Pérez, parish priest of the Cuxtitali parish in San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Mexico, was killed after celebrating Mass.

Speaking about the assassination, Sister María de los Dolores Palencia Gómez, of the Congregation of Sisters of Saint Joseph and Delegate President of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, described Fr Marcelo as a warrior of peace who tried to bring dialogue and justice to the poorest of the poor. A member of an indigenous tribe in Mexico, he advocated for the rights of the Tzotzil community and spoke out against violence in the country, which has increased because of forced migration, particularly in his home state of Chiapas. Chiapas borders Guatemala, where there is a constant flow of migrants from South America, Asia, Africa, and European countries. Sr María stressed that this migration is “driven by necessity,” and that Chiapas is one of the states that faces “intense violence due to territorial struggles among the cartels that traffic drugs.” According to NGO Insight Crime, Chiapas state is key for trafficking drugs, arms, and migrants towards the United States. Sr María said the violence, rivalries, thefts, and kidnappings have led to internal migration and, “in some cases, divisions among communities, disputes, and distrust among brother peoples who have lived together for a long time.” The Mexican religious sister stressed the need for Fr Marcelo’s murder “to not go unpunished” and to ensure “that what is happening in these territories is not forgotten.”