So many murders': Pope laments killing of two priests in MexicoPope Francis on Wednesday, expressed sadness and dismay after the killings of two priests, and a man seeking sanctuary inside a church
by Agence France-Presse
24-06-2022 08:42
in Christian Connect
Pope Francis speaks during the weekly general audience on 22 June, 2022 at St. Peter's square in The Vatican. Photo: Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP
Pope Francis on Wednesday lamented the spiral of violence engulfing Mexico after two Jesuit priests and a man seeking sanctuary were gunned down inside a church.
--
The pope, himself a Jesuit, expressed sadness and dismay over the killings of men he called his brothers in the mountains of the northern state of Chihuahua.
So many murders in Mexico. I am close, in affection and prayer, to the Catholic community affected by this tragedy,
the pontiff said at the end of his weekly audience at the Vatican. ALSO READ: Historic moment': Finally, EU grants candidate status' to Ukraine
KILLING OF PRIESTS IN MEXICO Priests Javier Campos, 79, and Joaquin Mora, 81, were shot dead in the town of Cerocahui on Monday while trying to defend a man who was seeking refuge, according to the order, also known as the Society of Jesus.
--
The pursued man, identified as tour guide Pedro Palma, was also killed and his body taken away with those of the two priests.
Chihuahua state governor Maru Campos later confirmed that the three men's bodies had been found.
We have managed to locate and recover the bodies of the Jesuit priests Javier Campos and Joaquin Mora, and of the tour guide Pedro Palma,
Maru Campos said in a video posted to social media. The identity of the victims was confirmed by forensic experts, while the state prosecutor's office announced a reward of $250 000 for information leading to the capture of the alleged murderer.
--
Authorities have identified as a suspect a 30-year-old man already wanted over the murder of an American tourist in 2018.
The prosecutor's office said on Wednesday that before the murders, the suspect had assaulted two other people after a disagreement over a baseball game.
He later kidnapped Palma, who managed to escape and ran into the church seeking help.
About 30 priests have been killed in Mexico in the past decade, according to the Centro Catolico Multimedial, a Catholic organization.
Crime-ridden region Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Wednesday that a manhunt was under way for the alleged murderer.
The suspect was identified by another priest present in the church, he told reporters.
That area of the mountains has for some time been infiltrated, penetrated, dominated by crime, Lopez Obrador said.
The three bodies were placed in the back of a pickup truck by armed men, covered with plastic and taken away, according to Father Luis Gerardo Moro Madrid, head of the Jesuits in Mexico.
We demand justice, the order said.
Experts say Chihuahua is an important transit route for illegal drugs bound for the United States and violently contested between rival trafficking gangs.
Father Jorge Atilano Gonzalez, also a Jesuit, told a local television station the priests killed on Monday had attempted to intervene because they knew the assailant, who was from the area.
He wanted to confess
after the shooting, he said, citing the testimony of the third priest present. What we believe is that he was in a state of alcoholism or addiction because of the reaction he had,
he added. ALSO READ: Johnson's Tories crushed in twin UK parliamentary by-elections
Important social work' The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mexico condemned the killings, saying the priests had carried out important social and pastoral work among the Raramuri, or Tarahumara, Indigenous people.
The murder of these two well-known priests reminds us of the situation of extreme violence and vulnerability faced by the communities of the Sierra Tarahumara in Chihuahua,
said UN human rights representative Guillermo Fernandez-Maldonado. The Mexican Episcopal Conference called for a rapid investigation as well as increased security for the country's clergy.
It is common for religious leaders in Mexico to act as defenders of their communities and as mediators with criminal gangs operating there.
In states such as Michoacan and Guerrero, some have even entered into dialogue with drug traffickers in a bid to keep the peace in largely poor regions with little government presence.
Agence France-Presse
Banking with TymeBank: Here's what you need to know. CLICK HERE!
Most recent headlines
04/09/2025
Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE), in collaboration with Dalet, has been a...
23/04/2025
In 2024, Thomson's Total Turnout project played a pivotal role in elevating ethical election reporting and strengthening journalist safety in Pakistan.
Wit...
23/04/2025
We heard that you could use a little pick-me-up, so get ready to sh-sh-shake it ...
23/04/2025
WBD's Max viewership climbs 6%, boosted by The White Lotus' and The Pi...
23/04/2025
March shows a further downward trend of time spent watching television; following the February period when winter holidays contributed to a shorter time spent. ...
23/04/2025
During March, audiences in Mexico increased their streaming usage by 2.1 points compared to the previous month, accounting for 24.4% of TV viewing.
Disclaimer:...
23/04/2025
AANHPI audiences over index the total U.S. for share of time spent with Netflix ...
23/04/2025
SAN JOSE, Calif. Roku has announced new TVs, new streaming devices and significant upgrades to its user interface and software platforms that are designed to st...
23/04/2025
COW Job Listing: Opportunity for a Passionate Feature Film Editor - London-Based...
23/04/2025
RM Equity Partners Acquires MAGIX Software, Appoints Robert Rutkowski as CEO to ...
23/04/2025
All Men Are Wicked Western Shot with Blackmagic Design
Brie Clayton April 23, 2025
0 Comments
Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4Ks were put to the test...
23/04/2025
NEW YORK Warner Bros. Discovery captured the largest monthly viewership increase among media distributors in March, according to Nielsen's latest Media Dist...
23/04/2025
MIAMI, Fla. Hemisphere Media Group has inked a deal with Samsung to launch WAPA+ as a FAST channel on Samsung TV Plus, a free TV streaming service that comes pr...
23/04/2025
HEBDEN BRIDGE, U.K. Calrec Audio has promoted Sid Stanley to managing director. Stanley, who joined the company in July 2018 as general manager, has been instru...
23/04/2025
WASHINGTON Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Nathan A. Simington has announced a series of staff appointments made in March and April 2025, includi...
23/04/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has set its agenda for the Monday, April 28, 2025 Open Meeting, which is scheduled to start at 10:30 a.m. in th...
23/04/2025
COW Job Listing: Full-Time Video Editor, Remote
Brie Clayton April 22, 2025
0 Comments
Full-Time Video Editor
April 23, 2025COW Job Listing: Opportu...
23/04/2025
Berklee Abu Dhabi's Jazz Night Kicks off Global Celebration of Music and Cul...
23/04/2025
The E.W. Scripps Co. said it was shutting down its Scripps News over-the-air channel effective November 15 and eliminating at least 200 jobs....
23/04/2025
Audio Helps Chess.com Checkmate Cheating Matches are produced using REMI workflows By Dan Daley, Audio Editor
Wednesday, April 23, 2025 - 7:00 am
Print Th...
23/04/2025
Tech Focus: Intercoms, Part 1 - Key to Onsite, REMI, Hybrid Operations Intercoms keep increasingly disparate production locations together By Dan Daley, Audio ...
23/04/2025
Speaking my language: Bringing AI to the fore with real time audio translation f...
23/04/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Drops Trailer for Crime Drama Secrets We Keep, Set in ...
23/04/2025
Back to All News
World Book Day: Netflix Announces New TV Adaptations and Impac...
23/04/2025
Comscore to Announce First Quarter 2025 Financial ResultsRESTON, VA, April 23, 2025 Comscore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a trusted partner for planning, transacting...
23/04/2025
In an email to RT staff today, RT Director-General, Kevin Backhurst confirmed that RT 's Voluntary Exit Programme (VEP) 2025 is open from today, Wednesday...
23/04/2025
RT will air live coverage on television, radio and online of the funeral of Pope Francis which takes place this Saturday, 26 April 2025.
Beginning at 8.30am o...
23/04/2025
As AI models evolve and adoption grows, enterprises must perform a delicate balancing act to achieve maximum value.
That's because inference - the process ...
23/04/2025
Financial services has long been at the forefront of adopting technological innovations. Today, generative AI and agentic systems are redefining the industry, f...
23/04/2025
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Enables Michelin to focus on development of its ...
23/04/2025
AI is rapidly reshaping what's possible on a PC - whether for real-time image generation or voice-controlled workflows. As AI capabilities grow, so does the...
23/04/2025
An AI agent is only as accurate, relevant and timely as the data that powers it....
23/04/2025
April 23 2025, 02:00 (PDT) Dolby Ushers in the Future of In-car Entertainment at Auto Shanghai 2025
Dolby and industry partners demonstrate robust momentum ...
22/04/2025
Chloe Sevigny at the Magic Farm premiere (photo by Michael Hurcomb/Shutterstock for Sundance Film Festival)...
22/04/2025
Music has the power to connect us to one another and to the world around us. Spotify is once again teaming up with the Museum for the United Nations - UN Live&#...
22/04/2025
Spotify has an unwavering commitment to supporting emerging artists across all g...
22/04/2025
This year marks the 55th anniversary of Earth Day, celebrated annually on April 22. On Spotify, listeners can explore a world of stories about our planet in our...
22/04/2025
McAvaney takes the lead for SBS' Coverage of the World Athletics Championshi...
22/04/2025
Virtual idols are poised to revolutionize entertainment, with the market projected to top $4 billion by 2029. Crafted with motion capture and game engine techno...
22/04/2025
As the audiovisual (AV) industry rapidly evolves, educational institutions are preparing the next generation of AV professionals for the future. Singapore Polyt...
22/04/2025
DENVER A new survey highlights just how important streaming has become in the entertainment landscape. Data compiled by Adtaxi shows streaming isnt just an alte...
22/04/2025
Samsung TV Plus has announced that it is now offering nearly 700 streaming channels in the U.S. more than any of the other major FAST platforms, the streaming s...
22/04/2025
PORTSMOUTH, N.H. New findings from Hub Research's latest survey on sports and television coverage reveal Amazon may have cracked the code of how to use tech...
22/04/2025
DETROIT Rockbridge Growth Equity has sold a controlling stake in GSTV to MidOcean Partners. Rockbridge will retain a minority stake in the video network which i...
22/04/2025
ATLANTA Gray Media has promoted Dana Neves to senior managing vice president, overseeing a number of Gray's television markets in the Northeast and Mid-Atla...
22/04/2025
The Infrastructure of Creative Flow: DigitalGlue's creative.space Wins NAB 2...
22/04/2025
iZotope unveils Equinox: the ultimate reverb plugin for Post and Music productio...
22/04/2025
Every way to export transparent videos from After Effects
Graham Quince April 21, 2025
0 Comments
In this video, I break down each way you can export ...
22/04/2025
April 22nd, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Short Film Lineup
Featuring How I Learned to Die Executive Produced by Osca...
So many murders': Pope laments killing of two priests in MexicoPope Francis on Wednesday, expressed sadness and dismay after the killings of two priests, and a man seeking sanctuary inside a church
