Murdered priest in Mexico remembered as ‘tireless apostle of peace’

Puebla, Mexico, Oct 23, 2024 / 07:00 am

Father Marcelo Pérez, a priest of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas in the Mexican state of Chiapas, died on Oct. 20, killed by two men who shot him after he had celebrated Mass. His diocese now remembers him as a “tireless apostle of peace.”

According to information provided by the diocese through a statement shared on Oct. 21, Pérez was born on Jan. 17, 1974, in San Andrés Larráinzar in Chiapas state.

From a young age he felt the call to the priesthood and entered the Our Lady of Guadalupe seminary in 1990 in the Archdiocese of Tuxtla Gutierrez. He was ordained a priest on April 6, 2002.

During his ministry, Pérez worked in various parishes. In his last two years, he served as pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

His pastoral work included tasks such as coordinator of the Social Ministry of the Province of Chiapas. According to the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas: “His life was spent in search of justice and peace, especially in Simojovel, Pantelho, and San Cristóbal de las Casas.”

The diocesan statement noted that this commitment earned him consequences. ”All this service he performed led him to suffer a long period of threats, persecution, harassment, slander, defamation, even an unfounded arrest warrant, which put his personal safety at risk, to the point of his life being taken.”

One of the most difficult moments of his ministry occurred in 2021 when 21 young people were kidnapped by the self-defense group “El Machete” with whom Pérez was said to have ties. According to local media, the attorney general’s office of the state of Chiapas issued an arrest warrant for him, but it was never carried out.

In an Aug. 2 interview with online news El Heraldo de Chiapas, Pérez assured that his work was always oriented toward peace and rejected the accusations against him, stating that “we never foment violence, even though the work we do is very visible and there is an arrest warrant that the government issued against me, but these are false accusations.”

In the same interview, he revealed that a “price” had been put on his life, with a value of between 150,000 and 1 million Mexican pesos (between $7,500 and $50,000), “but we live under the protection of God; there is a lot of violence but we continue to build peace.”

In its statement following his murder, the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas said that “even knowing that his life was in danger, he lived a profound faith in God and a great love for the people that took him to the ultimate consequences, sealing today, with his blood, his commitment to give his life.”

The Catholic Church demands justice and a ‘total end to violence’

The Mexican Bishops’ Conference lamented in a statement the “brutal murder” of the priest, noting that this act “not only deprives the community of a dedicated pastor but also silences a prophetic voice that tirelessly fought for peace with truth and justice in the Chiapas region.”

The Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas also issued a statement in which it demanded that the three levels of government “completely halt the violence” affecting Chiapas, describing it as the result of “impunity, complicity, and corruption.”

The diocese reiterated its demand for the “immediate disarmament and dismantling of crime gangs” operating in the region. It also called for the murder of Pérez to be solved and for “justice be done until those truly responsible are found.”

Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, who ordained Pérez as a priest, described him as a man “committed to justice and peace among Indigenous peoples.”

In a statement shared with ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, he emphasized that the murdered priest “never got involved in partisan politics but always fought for the values ​​of the kingdom of God” and added that the priest was “very focused on his vocation, very prayerful and spent a lot of time before the tabernacle.”

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The cardinal noted that “his murder shows us, once again, the climate of violence that has been unleashed in Chiapas and in almost the entire country.” He affirmed that this situation is indicative “that the government and all of us, including the churches, are overwhelmed. We haven’t managed to stop the violence, but rather it is increasing.”

The Latin American Bishops’ Council (CELAM, by its Spanish acronym), after expressing its “consternation,” recognized Pérez as a “tireless seeker of peace and justice for his people, the fruit of his faithful commitment to the Gospel and his total dedication to Christ present among those who suffer the most.

U.N.: Murder of Pérez ‘absolutely unacceptable’

The murder was also condemned by Jesús Peña Palacios, deputy representative in Mexico of the United Nations Human Rights Organization, who noted that since 2015, Pérez had been under precautionary measures from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), “due to the constant risk to his life and personal safety due to his work in defense of human rights in Simojovel and other places in Chiapas.”

“The murder of Father Marcelo is absolutely unacceptable. His work was widely recognized by Indigenous peoples in Chiapas and also internationally. Despite having protective measures and constant complaints about the attacks he faced, these were insufficient to prevent his murder,” Peña said.

The governor of Chiapas, Rutilio Escandón, shared a video on social media on Oct. 21 in which he assured that “investigations began yesterday so that this homicide does not go unpunished and that the guilty parties face justice and the full weight of the law comes down upon them.”

Likewise, in an Oct. 21 press conference, Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum, deplored “the homicide, the murder of Father Marcelo Pérez Pérez in San Cristóbal de las Casas.”

“The investigation is underway. Yesterday, the secretary of the interior was in communication with both the state government and the diocese and the ecclesiastical authorities. We are coordinating to be able to make progress in the investigation and ensure that this crime does not go unpunished,” she said.

Sheinbaum added that as the investigation progresses, she will look into whether this case will be taken up by the federal attorney general’s office.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.