Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Ciudad Altamirano (Agenzia Fides) – The Mexican Bishops' Conference has issued a statement in which they decry the murders of a priest and two seminarians, which took place on June 13 in Ciudad de Arcelia (Guerrero) and sent their condolences to Bishop Maximino Martinez Miranda of Ciudad Altamirano, the Seminary and the families that are suffering as a result of this occurrence and the irreparable loss of their loved ones.
The statement reads: “We also decry the violence that is plaguing our country and we ask the corresponding authorities on all levels of government to conduct a prompt investigation and to find out who has been responsible for this cowardly crime.” They end by asking everyone to join in prayer for the Diocese, the Seminary, and the families, “that the Lord may give them strength and consolation soon.”
The victims were Fr. Habacuc Hernandez Benitez, 39 years of age, Vocations Coordinator for the Diocese of Altamirano, along with two young men: Eduardo Oregón Benítez, 19, and Silvestre González Cambrón, 21, both of Ajuchitlan (Guerrero). The three were killed on their way to a meeting for Vocations Ministry on Saturday evening in Arcelia, Tierra Caliente (Guerrero). According to the Director of the Police Investigation Department, around 7pm on Saturday, they were driving in a pick-up truck, down one of the main streets of Argelia, when all of a sudden another car approached them and forced them out of the truck, firing on them with several 9 mm caliber bullets.
A wake was held for them at the Seminary of Ciudad Altamirano and on Monday, their bodies were taken to their hometowns. On Sunday, Archbishop Felipe Aguirre Franco of Acapulco, after celebrating a Mass at the Church of “Nuestra Señora de la Soledad,” gave a press conference in which he affirmed that the specifics of the case remain unknown. “It is a low blow to Guerrero and for the Church of the Diocese of Altamirano; we are grieved by the death of the priest and the young men,” the Archbishop said.
“We become hostages in this violent confrontation of getting even with those above us, this is also contagious among people, as they imitate these violent acts and they want to live as if it were a jungle,” said Archbishop Aguirre Franco. He also explained that in that part of the country, the law of settling differences and getting even is with a gun and bloodshed. “It is a society that is 'Cain-izing' itself with brothers killing brothers.” He also mentioned that the armed forces are 'not enough' in resolving the problems of drug trafficking and violence, which is why there should be activities that address the problem in its entirety, especially as it seems the area is entering into an endless war.
The Archdiocese of Mexico City also issued a statement denouncing the death of the priest and seminarians in Guerrero. “Any act of violence is deplorable in and of itself, even more so when it concerns persons consecrated to God, which increases the guilt of the murderers,” the statement said. Thus, the corresponding authorities are asked to perform a thorough investigation for the crime and to punish those responsible according to the Law. The Archdiocese also mentioned its prayers to God “for the eternal rest of the victims of this cowardly crime” and unite themselves to the suffering of the faithful of Ciudad Altamirano and the Archdiocese of Acapulco. (RG) (Agenzia Fides 16/06/2009)
