Pray for Pope Francis' safety: Mexican gangs target priests

'Priests and nuns are targeted because we have gotten involved more and more in the human rights crisis of this country.'

Please pray for the safety of not only Pope Francis, but also for the priests and nuns targeted in Mexico.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - According to the Catholic Multimedia Center, Mexico has remained the most dangerous country for priests in Latin America for the past six consecutive years.

At least 36 priests have been killed by criminal organizations over the past decade in Mexico alone.

Yahoo! News reported the latest victim was Father Erasmo Pliego de Jesus. His body was discovered, burned, in Puebla - one of the most religious states.

Before Fr. Jesus, Father Francisco Javier Gutierrez was discovered with a gunshot to his head.
Another priest, Alejandro Solalinde, has been threatened with murder and received messages such as, "We will kill you."

The 70-year-old priest fled Mexico in 2012 and has been protected since by four bodyguards.
"One of them even had a price on my head. They offered five million pesos ($400,000) to have me killed," Solalinde said.

"Priests and nuns are targeted because we have gotten involved more and more in the human rights crisis of this country," Fr. Solalinde added. "We are side-by-side with the victims and that makes us vulnerable to organized crime and its political arm."

Archbishop Norberto Rivera told AFP, "It has been terrible. Many priests are continuously affected by organized crime because there are people who see priests as a symbol of certain values that they don't agree with."

One of the most dangerous areas for priests is Michoacan, where Pope Francis arrived on Tuesday.

Though the pontiff has arrived and moved on safely, there is always the question of His Holiness' safety.

Until he returns safely to Rome, please keep Pope Francis' safety - and the safety of the many priests and nuns in Mexico - in prayer.

"God's Angels guard and keep you/All the way that you must travel/Till earth's days are past/When blossoms fade and/Time is fleeting fast/In times of purest joy/Or pain and fear/God's Angels guard/And keep you safe."

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