By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-10-21 22:08:56 | Updated at 2024-10-24 00:22:45
2 days ago
CV NEWS FEED // Father Marcelo Pérez, an indigenous Mexican priest. was murdered on October 20 on his way home from Sunday Mass.
The Associated Press reports that two people shot Father Pérez while he was in his car, after he had celebrated Mass in the neighborhood of Cuxtitali in San Cristobal de las Casas.
Father Pérez was known as a negotiator in conflicts in a mountainous region of Chiapas where crime, violence and land disputes are rife,” the AP stated.
Father Pérez also “led several marches against violence, which has brought him several death threats,” the article continued.
AP reports that Chipas Governor Rutilio Escandón posted on X that he condemned “the cowardly assassination of father Marcelo Pérez.”
The governor added, “We will collaborate with all the authorities so his death doesn’t go unpunished and those guilty face the courts.”
The Mexican Bishops released a statement upon his death. An unofficial translation reads:
May the sacrifice of Fr. Marcelo Pérez not be in vain, but may it inspire us all to work more effectively to build a more just, peaceful and fraternal society in Chiapas and throughout the country, faithful to the message of the Gospel that he preached with his life and death, and that is how we will remember him.
May Our Lady of Guadalupe, Mother of Mexico, intercede for us and guide us in these moments of pain and tribulation.
Father Perez’s funeral took place on October 21. The retired Archbishop of Chiapas, Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi Esquivel, celebrated the mass.
