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AUGUST 2015
PERSECU ION
Mexico:
Persecution
Exposed
An ICC/CSW investigation reveals the shocking story of persecution in Mexico
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HIDDEN IN PLAIN SIGHT CHRISTIANS IN MEXICO SUFFER SHOCKING PERSECUTION IN SILENCE ICC’s president travels to Mexico to investigate the persecution of Christians
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By Jeff King, president of ICC
or 12 years I’ve wanted ICC to be involved in fighting persecution in Mexico. If you are like most people, you are probably wondering why we are using the words Mexico and persecution together in the same sentence! The shocking truth is that Mexico has a serious persecution problem. Many Christians suffer the same abuses, and the government reacts to persecution in the same way we see overseas.
On the Back Burner
Mexico has been on the back burner for ICC and other Christian human rights groups for some time because, although we knew there was persecution, we didn’t have solid on-the-ground contacts. Therefore, other more urgent areas took precedence. Enter Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)! A wonderful UK-based Christian advocacy group, CSW has for the last few years been doing incredible work in Mexico and Latin America under the leadership of regional manager, Anna-Lee Stangel. Anna-Lee hosted me on a joint CSW/ ICC investigation into Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state and one of the key centers of persecution. What I saw stunned me. Persecution in Chiapas includes everything from beatings, to land/home seizures, to murder of Christians who will not abandon Christ. One fascinating spiritual insight in regard to the persecution is that it is correlated with the spread of a satanic movement that has swept Mexico called Santa Muerte, or Saint Death. Where Santa Muerte is strong, persecution is strong! See our story on page 14 for additional insight on this cult.
A Brief History
Persecution in different forms has been going on for over 100 years, but it has
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really picked up pace in the last 30 years with the growth of the evangelical churches. The most active states are Chiapas, Oaxaca and Hidalgo. In the 1800s, Mexico confiscated all the Catholic churches in the country after the priests aided a national uprising. To this day, the government refuses to give them back and says they never will. Catholic priests who stand up for justice are assassinated by the narcos (drug mafias). In fact, the Catholic church loses more priests to persecution by the narcos in Chiapas than anywhere else on earth (see page 26-27).
A Typical Case
Most of the cases we see today are strikingly similar. Not much has changed in 2,000 years; if you look at Acts 19:23-24, you will see the same broad pattern of persecution in Mexican cases. The victims tend to be indigenous Mexicans, as opposed to those of Spanish descent. They are poor, uneducated, ignorant of their rights and culturally marginalized — many don’t even speak Spanish! When indigenous Mexicans come to Christ, they come under heavy pressure from mayors and other village officials to continue to pay for village festivals that involve extremely heavy drinking, sexual immorality and sometimes even the satanic practices of the Santa Muerte movement. The Christians, who are looking to flee the world and its evil practices, can no longer participate in or support these activities. When they refuse to pay the thousands of dollars required of them as a group, then the real trouble starts. They are threatened and their utilities are turned off. If they don’t turn away from Jesus, they are expelled and lose their homes and lands. If they refuse to leave or try to return, they are beaten and tortured. Many have even been raped or murdered. See pages 18-19 for an in-depth look at one case.
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Government Solutions
You would think a country with the rule of law would ensure the victims in these cases were able to receive protection from the government. Unfortunately, the reality is that the best case scenario for these Christians is that the government ignores the victims. In the worst cases, the government will actually collude with and protect the perpetrators. The government “solution” for one group of Christians who were thrown off their lands and out of their homes was to allow them to come back if they agreed to not carry Bibles, assemble together, share the Gospel or have any visitors without the mayor’s approval (see pages 18-19). With friends like these … !
U.S. Advocacy Solutions
During my visit, I met with several government human rights commissions and told them that the international human rights organizations had previously given Mexico a pass, but that time was ending due to a long pattern of egregious offenses against Christian communities. As I write this, our advocacy team is in Washington, D.C. with two knowledgeable guests we flew in from Mexico for meetings with 20 senators and members of Congress on this issue. One influential member is considering a congressional hearing on this issue. See pages 22-23 for more on our advocacy work.
Answering the Call
In the meantime, we are aiding victims and we will speak out for those who cannot speak, for the rights of all the destitute. We will speak out and judge righteously to defend the rights of the poor and needy (Proverbs 31:8-9). We do this because we know that whatever we do for the least of these brothers and sisters of Mexico, we do for Jesus (Matthew 25:40)! See pages 24-25 for more information on how you can fight persecution in Mexico. AUGUST 2015
Photos Top Left Chiapas, the center of persecution in Mexico, is a famous tourist destination.
Top Right Indigenous Mexicans are the typi-
cal victims of persecution in Mexico.
Middle Left Persecution usually starts when
villages attempt to force Christians to financially support thousands of dollars to buy alcohol for festivals that involve heavy drinking, sexual immorality and even satanic elements.
Middle Right ICC’s president meets with the Chiapas state human rights commission. Bottom These people are part of a group of
more than 30 individuals expelled from their village who lost their homes and land and have lived in a homeless shelter for six years. See page 16 for their story.
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Santa Muerte
A Satanic Cult Threatens to Supplant Catholic Worship
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By Rosalie Thompson
s darkness looms in Tepito, a community infamous for its criminal and violent activities is heard chanting “holiest of deaths” in the streets as a sea of followers serenade and carry gifts to a statute elaborately clothed in a white wedding dress with a veil covering its face. From a distance, the dressed figure can vaguely be seen as the flicker of lit candles marks the religious procession to her shrine decorated with crosses and dozens of other saint figures surrounding her elaborate altar. From afar, the image seems to be just another mere replica of the patron saint of Mexico, the Virgin of Guadalupe (the Virgin Mary), but as the neon lights and lit candles draw closer to her shrine, a skeleton dressed as a bride carrying a scythe is revealed for all to see. Every year on November 1, thousands of faithful worshippers gather in the streets of Tepito at the stroke of midnight to pay their respects and make their homage walk to a saint both feared and hated by the Catholic Church. These faithful worshippers, some having journeyed hundreds of miles, are about to offer their burnt sacrifices and gifts to Santa Muerte (Saint Death), a personification of death and the goddess of all that is evil. What’s more, her followers erect homemade altars and offer lit candles to her worship — many offering fruit, alcohol and flowers at her feet in the hope that she will grant their desires. However, her extreme devotion requires more than just plates of food and
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tequila. For many, the sacrifices and offerings require a blood price. With dark worship comes dark offerings, and this is evidently true with Santa Muerte. The sacrifices and offerings made at her feet have become barbaric and diabolic. In many instances, heads of victims have served as burnt sacrifices to Santa Muerte. In exchange for protection and victory, drug cartels and criminals will drag their victims to the feet of Santa Muerte and deliver their blood right before her shrine.
A Cult of Death
In recent decades, veneration of Santa Muerte has become notorious for its association with the drug war in Mexico. Drug cartels venerate her and call upon her for protection. In many criminal circles, it is even
rumored that ritual murders have been made in her honor. Despite her grisly figure and her vengeful wrath to all who oppose her, thousands are flocking to worship at her feet. This new cult, the cult of death, is sparking a new battle for the soul of Mexico. For a country where the veneration of Catholic saints has always been popular and strong, the adoration of and devotion to the cult of “holy death” is increasing among the most marginalized members of its society. For many, Santa Muerte is a “compassionate and egalitarian” figure, a “saint” who is amoral and does not judge. She accepts all who prostrate at her feet and makes no preference for those who live an amoral or virtuous life. She reigns unrivaled within prison cells and among notorious criminals, drug cartels, homosexual and transgender individuals and
Santa Muerte,
adorned as the Catholic Virgin of Guadalupe, is the center of worship for a cult of “holy death” that is spiraling out of control in Mexico.
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AUGUST 2015
all those considered downtrodden by society. Her devotion is unique and astonishing, and contrary to the veneration and devotion given to the Virgin Mary and the Catholic Church, Santa Muerte does not require her followers to forsake all others to remain faithful to her. Instead, she only asks for special offerings to be made to her. Surprisingly, many Catholics who prostrate themselves at Santa Muerte’s feet still count Catholicism as their primary religion. But here is where religion and superstition become one.
A Cult Becomes a Religion
Santa Muerte first began as an underground movement with deep roots in the Aztec goddess of the underworld. It incorporated the belief that this deathly folk saint could grant miracles in the same way that Catholic saints were believed to, but without passing judgment. Since her inception to the present day, her adoration has become more prominent. So prominent, in fact, that it began to take the place of the traditional Catholic Church and their saints. While Mexico battles to find the balance of security and transparency within its borders, many Mexicans are beginning to believe the traditional hierarchy of the Catholic Church cannot offer them solace from the corruption and bloodshed plaguing their country. Therefore, many have found this new cult a religious movement of salvation and liberation from injustice — injustice from government officials and even religious officials, who have marginalized its most vulnerable members of society. With an increasing number of Catholic churches throughout Mexico experiencing a dwindling in followers as their congregants depart to join this new cult, the growing flock of Santa Muerte has made some Catholic priests despise Santa Muerte as a satanic practice. In addition to the dwindling numbers in the Catholic churches, Christians in Mexico are also threatened by the rising popularity of this death cult as many are being forced to pay for festivals that increasingly involve many of its satanic rituals. Believers who refuse to have anything to do with such idolatry are often persecuted and expelled from their homes and villages. And so the battle for the soul of Mexico and its people has begun. Photos at Left The dark and often satanic worship of Santa Muerte (Saint Death) is increasing among the disenfranchised of Mexico’s population.
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THE SMILES REMAIN A Gift of Food Brings Joy to a Persecuted Community ICC’s president visits 11 Christian families who have spent six years living in a homeless shelter after being expelled from their homes.
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By Jeff King, president of ICC
eing in the field is what makes persecution real. We deal with persecution every day, but when you meet the victims face to face, you remember why you do this kind of work.
Eleven Families in Limbo
The pictures to the right are of a group of 11 Christian families I met on my trip to Chiapas, Mexico. They were expelled from their land and homes in Chiapas in 2009. The government’s solution to their plight, rather than demanding justice and arresting the perpetrators, was to put this group of farming families into a homeless shelter within a strange city, without jobs or skills. They have been in this situation for the last six years. I met with these families to understand their case and hear their story on my visit to Chiapas. Within the homeless shelter, each family lives in a room that is approximately 12x12 feet. Within that small space, a bathroom takes up a 4x9-foot section. Their kids are normal kids that run around and make noise, but the parents are terrified that neighbors will complain about the noise, and they will be thrown out on the streets. As
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a result, the parents try to keep them in their small rooms throughout the day. Most of the kids have been denied an education because the schools tell the parents that their kids are too far behind and will hurt the other kids. The few that do go to school fare little better. Teachers tell the parents that in order to receive their grades and advance to the next level, they have to pay the equivalent
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ – ACTS 20:35 (ESV)
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of $50 (a sum way beyond their reach). As I sat with each family, hearing the details of their case, I was burdened by their plight. I thought of my own kids as I watched theirs run around in rags. After the meeting, I went to a store and purchased 800 pounds of beans and rice (see bottom picture) out of my own pocket. I don’t mention that I paid for the food personally lightly. I did it out of concern and to let you know that these believers that are being persecuted in Mexico are suffering greatly and truly in need. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive. If you’ve lived a few years, you know the truth of that statement. No material thing or money given to you really touches your soul, but when you give, especially in relation to God’s prompting, and see others blessed, it is food for your soul and an investment in eternity. Take a look at the picture on the bottom right — the smiles of our brothers and sisters tell the story well. Their parting words to me through the interpreter were about how they felt frustration. Because of the language barrier, they couldn’t properly express to me personally how touched they were. The words expressed are already fading, but those smiles of blessing and gratitude will remain. AUGUST 2015
1 Forced from their homes in Chiapas, 11 families have spent the past six years living together in this homeless shelter 2 A victim and his children stand in their 12x12-foot home 3 Smiles of gratitude abound as food is delivered
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