Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega / Credit: Archbishopric of Guadalajara PressWhile on a visit to the northern region of Mexico’s Jalisco state, Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega, the Archbishop of Guadalajara, disclosed that he was stopped and questioned last week at a checkpoint manned by drug traffickers.
The cardinal reportedly made the remark at a news conference on June 26 according to ArquiMedios, a weekly journal of the Archdiocese of Guadalajara.
The recent murders of two Jesuit priests and another man at a church in the state of Chihuahua were among the recent acts of violence in Mexico that the cardinal bemoaned.
The man was being chased into the church by an armed intruder, and the priests were trying to defend him. The assailant then shot both the man and the two priests, killing all three.
The archbishop revealed during a news conference that he was “stopped at two checkpoints, obviously belonging to organized crime, and they demand that you tell them where you’re coming from, what’s your purpose, what you’re doing there.”
The cardinal questioned during the news conference, “I mean, that’s like the most normal, the most natural thing, but why?”
It is crucial to adopt a mindset of personal accountability in the present circumstance, he said, because “this is related to the degeneration of values, respect for life, and respect for institutions.”
The cardinal stated, “We must all be conscious that, if we do not propose each other to be builders of peace, of understanding, and of reconciliation in our respective fields, places, and relationships, we will ultimately destroy one other.”
The Guadalajara Archbishop urged the authorities to do out their duties and ensure everyone’s safety.
We’re merely asking that they uphold the law, he continued, not that someone be shot to death.
Other recent violent episodes in the nation include the arrest and interrogation of the Bishop of Zacatecas, Sigifredo Noriega Barceló, by members of organized crime, which resulted in the deaths of 13 persons, including four police officers, in El Salto, Jalisco state.
Violence has dramatically increased in Mexico. The nation experienced its highest ever homicide rate between 2018 and 2021. President Enrique Pea Nieto’s final year in office and the first three years of President Andrés Manuel López Obrador are included in the time frame. The term of office for Mexican presidents is six years.
According to official statistics, there have been more than 12,847 homicides in Mexico from January 1 to June 26 of this year.