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Catholics of Chiapas, Mexico, are mourning the death of Father Marcelo Pérez, who was shot dead shortly after celebrating Mass on Sunday, October 20. Fr. Pérez is remembered for his staunch advocacy of indigenous community and farm laborers, as well as his opposition to the violence committed by drug cartels.
According to a report from CBS News, Fr. Pérez had finished cleaning up after Mass was about to head to Guadalupe Church, when a motorcycle with two riders pulled up beside his van and opened fire. The suspects were able to flee the scene and there has yet to be an arrest, but President Claudia Sheinbaum has commented that an investigation is underway.
While it is unclear who perpetrated the crime, it is suspected to be linked to the current war between the Sinaloa and Jalisco cartels, ongoing in Chiapas. Fr. Pérez was a well known mediator who was outspoken against cartel violence. The marches he led against violence had previously led to the priest receiving death threats.
Vatican News spoke with Sister María de los Dolores Palencia Gómez, a Mexican nun from the Congregation of Sisters of St. Joseph, who recalled Fr. Pérez as a “warrior of peace.” A member of the Indigenous Tzotzil community, he worked to support the poorest in his community while fighting for protections for victims of “forced migration.”
1st stop on way to US markets
Sr. Maria noted Chiapas’ proximity to Guatemala, which is a Central American corridor for the arrival of migrants from Asia, Africa, and Europe. As Chiapas is situated on the border of Guatemala, it is the first stop through Mexico for the trafficking of guns, drugs, and people to the US. The increased rates of criminal transportation has made the cartels only fight harder to maintain dominance.
The Mexican religious sister, who is also Delegate President of the 16th Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod, began the October 21 assembly in Rome with a prayer for Fr. Pérez. She stressed to Vatican News the importance of catching Fr. Pérez’s murderers so that justice is served:
“We need to shout and make the world understand and hear,” Sr. María explained, “that there are a series of situations that go against humanity and also against creation.”
