Bolivian bishops call for end to vandalism after Morales’ resignation

Mexico City, Mexico, Sep 26, 2019 / 12:02 am (CNA).- Pro-life advocates took to the streets throughout Mexico on Sept. 21 to march for life, family, and conscience protections.

Marches were held in some 100 cities across the country, including Guadalajara, Querétaro, Xalapa, Monterrey, Pachuca, Huejutla, Tlaxcala, Chilpancingo, Puebla, Naucalpan, Celaya, Guanajuato, Hidalgo. Additionally, marches took place in the United States at the Mexican consulates in Chicago and San Diego.

Organizers estimated that some 500,000 people participated throughout the country.

A statement read at events in different cities stressed the need to reject a culture of death and “build an authentic culture of life.”

“For this to happen, we have to start with the family, the basic cell of society,” the statement said. “We reiterate that the function of the government is to ensure everyone’s rights…If we can’t guarantee life, we will hardly be able to guarantee other fundamental rights.”

The marches also condemned organized crime, extortions, kidnappings, and other acts of violence, calling on government officials to “make Mexico a safe place to live, where the lives of all Mexicans are guaranteed, the first human right. Today not one less Mexican!”

Mexican actor and producer Eduardo Verástegui greeted participants at the marches on the National Front for the Family’s Facebook page.

“I want to thank the National Front for the Family for all this effort, for all this support that they give women,” he said.

He also encouraged participants to see the movie Unplanned, which will premier throughout Mexico in October. The movie, entitled Inesperado in Spanish, shows the real story of an abortion clinic worker, Abby Johnson, who underwent a powerful conversion upon seeing an abortion take place. Today, Johnson runs a ministry called And Then There Were None, which helps other abortion workers leave the industry.

Verástegui said the movie portrays “a very powerful story, with a pro-life, pro-woman and pro-family message. It’s very important for everyone in Mexico to see it.”

In a statement to ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language partner, Rodrigo Iván Cortés, president of the National Front for the Family, said the marches were intended “to give a voice to those who have no voice. We want to embrace Mexico and say loudly and clearly: Not one less Mexican.”

“Mexico is suffering from a terrible culture of death that is tearing apart families, and from illegal organized crime that is taking away the lives of many Mexicans,” he lamented.

He said that politicians at both the state and federal level aggravate the problem rather than solving it, by “adding to illegal organized crime the legal organized crime of abortion.”

Cortés also warned against efforts by politicians to impose gender ideology in schools, rather than working to strengthen and reinforce the institution of marriage.

“There will only be peace if life is respected, there will only be development if the family is respected, and there will only be authentic democracy if fundamental freedoms are respected such as conscience or belief, and if the freedom of parents to educate their children is respected,” he said.

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Cuernavaca, Mexico, Jun 4, 2019 / 12:33 am (CNA).- On Saturday, an estimated 40,000 people attended the fifth Walk for Peace in Mexico, organized by the Diocese of Cuernavaca, with the goal of stopping the growing wave of violence caused by the country’s major crime gangs.

The tens of thousands of attendees, most of them dressed in white, began the walk around 9:00 a.m. local time from Our Lady of Miracles parish in Tlatenango, Cuernavaca, to the Plaza de Armas, where Mass was celebrated.

“The reality of the suffering of our people demands of us, without a doubt, an attitude of co-responsibility for this reality that we are facing…Before this bloody holocaust of violence we must not be filled with fear. Even though it is a complicated reality, a prophetic Church is required,” said Bishop Ramón Castro of Cuernavaca in his address to the large crowd.

The prelate also called the main crime gangs to conversion and to remember that the violence also affects their families.

“To the principal cartels that operate in our state…you also are sons of God and, despite everything, the Lord loves you. But it’s never too late to make things right and be converted!” he said.

“Violence engenders violence and your fighting over territory, drug distribution, money laundering, arms trafficking, not only harms society but also your own children, brothers and parents. For their sake, for the fear of God, we entreat you: be converted, it’s never too late, it’s always possible, and may we all be converted into a new culture of peace,” the bishop said.

In his talk, Castro pointed to the troubling statistics that position their state as one of the most dangerous in all of Mexico.

Violence in Morelos state – of which Cuernavaca is the capital – is high, with 14,479 crimes recorded in the first four months of 2019. Out of that figure, 404 crimes were homicides.

In the country overall, some 8,500 intentional homicides were recorded in the first quarter of 2019, an increase of almost 10% compared to the same period in 2018.

The bishop of Cuernavaca also warned that half of the state’s municipalities are forced to pay money to the criminal gangs, and that citizens’ fear of reporting crime is increased when they know the police may be in collusion with organized crime.

At the end of the walk, Castro said on Twitter that the walk allowed for an experience of grace and community.

“Our people have felt the refreshing breeze of their Lord. Thousands of people united to strengthen their faith and hope! Violence and hatred don’t have the last word! Take courage!” the bishop said.

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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Nadia de Munari. Credit: Avvenire.

Chimbote, Peru, Apr 26, 2021 / 12:56 pm (CNA).
Nadia de Munari, a 50-year-old Italian lay missionary who was part of Operation Mato Grosso, which serves the poor in Peru, died April 24 after being attacked in h… […]