After Priest Deaths, Mexican Diocese Pulls Nuns from Violent Mexican City

By Gary Nguyen --
19 Feb 2018 --

The church declined to say the number of nuns it has withdrawn.

The Chilpancingo-Chilapa Diocese, a Roman Catholic Diocese, has moved all nuns from their posts from Chilapa city after two priests were killed[/tweetit]. Father Ivan Anorve Jaime and Father Germain Muniz Garcia, the two priests, were shot dead while coming back from the Candlemas celebrations. Three of the other four passengers were injured. In a statement, the diocese said that one nun's parents were killed in the recent months. The school also had to shut its doors for a few months due to pressure tactics from drug gangs present in the area. It was one of the most respected and oldest schools in the city. The church declined to say the number of nuns it has withdrawn. Local media, however, said that four were taken away to an undisclosed location.

After Priest Deaths, Mexican Diocese Pulls Nuns from Violent Mexican City[/tweetthis]

The Chilpancingo-Chilapa Diocese has openly pleaded to the gangs not to hurt the education of children. It hoped that it can be possible to find people who can run the school. It pointed out that if the school becomes permanently closed, then many in the city will be bereft of quality education.

Xavier Olea Pelaez, the state prosecutor, said that the priests were coming back after attending the celebrations. The event had a number of unsavory participants, including armed men and criminal groups. He said that the shooters came from the neighboring states. Olea added that a photograph of Father Muniz clutching an assault rifle has been found. The photograph also pictures him surrounded by masked men. This fact led to confusion.

Salvador Rangel Mendoza, the Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa, has a less-than-ideal relationship with the state authority. He rejected outright the version provided by state government, claiming that the government has spun a “fairy tale.” He said that the Father Muniz clutching a gun was at least a year old. The armed individuals on both sides of the priest were in all probability community security force members in the priest's hometown.

Bishop Rangel said that the government is trying to blame the church members. As per the bishop, since the priests move among the narcotics traffickers, the former is also presumably involved with criminal activities. The murder of church personnel underlines the dispute continuing between the bishop and the state government. The church leader has pushed for dialogue between state and drug bosses. He has also fanned out his priests to serve isolated and dirt-poor communities which's sole source of money was opium cultivation.