Pain, rage, helplessness and disbelief have caused the murder of two Jesuits in the Sierra Tarahumara. It is not enough to resign ourselves to admitting that the priests were affected by the violence of the region and the country. “It was their turn” like so many other Mexicans who have lost their lives in this maelstrom of terror that we have experienced since the government of Felipe Calderón.
The day before yesterday between 5 and 6 in the afternoon, the Jesuit priests César Joaquín Mora Salazar and Javier Campos Morales, called Father Rooster, were assassinated by several assassins in the Cerocahui temple in the Sierra Tarahumara. There is still not much clarity on the facts and we do not know the reasons why they raised the bodies of the victims.
A profound confusion reigns because they are two Jesuit missionaries, faithful to the poor and suffering people of the Tarahumara. Committed to the indigenous poor among the poor. The historical weight of that mission dates back to the 17th century. The murdered Jesuits were two elderly missionaries who had inculturated themselves and consecrated their entire lives to pastoral work in favor of the communities, mainly Rarámuris in the Tarahumara. Their presence dates back 40 years in the region and they were honorable heirs to the great Jesuit Bishop José Llaguno (1925-92).
The Jesuits in the Tarahumara region have distinguished themselves by being in solidarity with marginalized, exploited and repressed communities. They did not teach faith in the abstract; they promoted economic development, education, social organization and human rights. With all pain, in a statement, the base ecclesial communities of the area express infinite sadness and anger, but maintain the hope that there will be no impunity. Not only were their lives taken from them, their bodies were disappeared. referring to the father rooster, who accompanied the statement, reminds him: “Spirituality, deep and unconditional love in the following of Jesus, was the phrase that Javier Campos Morales SJ, shared at the Diocesan Assembly of Animators of Ecclesial Base Communities, held on June 3, 2022”. The Society of Jesus stated that these events are not isolated. The Sierra Tarahumara, like many other regions of the country, faces conditions of violence and neglect that have not been reversed. Every day men and women are arbitrarily deprived of life, as our brothers were murdered today. He continues: “We demand that all protection measures be adopted immediately to safeguard the lives of our Jesuit brothers, sisters, lay people and the entire community of Cerocahui.”
The Society of Jesus has played a very important role in Mexican culture. The Jesuits arrived at the end of the 16th century. The Franciscans, the Dominicans and the Carmelites were already installed. Therefore, their missions were territorially oriented to Guanajuato, San Luis and Coahuila. Later they expanded to Durango, Sinaloa and Chihuahua. They forged cities and colleges. They formed the colonial intelligentsia until they were expelled by Carlos III from all of America for not fully complying with the mandates of the crown. The Jesuits had chosen to defend the dignity of the Indians under Christian principles and loyalty to the Pope. The Guarani revolts triggered the exile at great cost to the colonies. They returned in the 19th century and it was not easy for them to adapt to independent and liberal Mexico. Today, the Jesuits play a very important role in the development of a Church of the poor and liberation theology.
There is another vein of analysis of this deplorable murder of two good priests. Today, being a priest in Mexico is holding a dangerous profession. Being a minister of worship in Mexico is a high-risk role. Many cases of murdered priests follow the path of impunity, failure to clarify the facts and institutional lassitude, failing to clarify the facts or applying justice. Shamefully, our country stands out for being where members of the clergy are most murdered. According to data from the Catholic Center, in the last 30 years more than 70 Catholic priests have been murdered. Seven so far in AMLO’s six-year term. The motives are multiple such as robbery, kidnapping, extortion, passionate and political motives. The most dangerous entities in the Republic are Michoacán, Guerrero, the Federal District and the state of Mexico.
One might wonder about the obvious signs of the desacralization of the priestly ministry in current Mexican society. For years the subject has been going around in my head. It seems that there is an emptying of the mysterious sense of religious practice from religious structures. Deinstitutionalization of faith? How to understand that the population continues to be so religious but increasingly distanced from religious institutions and structures? The great crisis that the Church suffers in contemporary society is the discredit of her sacredness. Via the media, a more political, elitist and even dissipated behavior of religious actors, such as the late Onesimo Cepeda, Juan Sandoval íñiguez and Norberto Rivera, is perceived. They have contributed to a worldly perception of priestly ministry. They are no longer spiritual leaders, but empty profane actors with frivolous agendas.
The martyrdom of Javier and Joaquín requires the recovery of their bodies, the clarification of the facts, the application of the law against those responsible, the protection of the communities and the effective confrontation of organized crime. What will the holy father say that they are killing his pigeons?
Outrage over the martyrdom of the Jesuits murdered in the Tarahumara