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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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Interview
LIVING A VIRTUOUS LIFE
T
he conflict had reached its climax and Casto Hernandez faced the ultimate conflict for a Christian. He could keep his home and land, but he would have to sign documents renouncing his faith. If he did not sign, he would be forced to flee, leaving almost everything behind.
Rise in Persecution
Persecution has exploded in Mexico over the past few decades with the growth of the evangelicals to the point that human rights activists question Mexicans’ right to freedom of religion established in article 24 of the Mexican Constitution. In Mexico, when a person finds Christ in a village, they will quickly face the wrath of mayors and politicians. The villages practice pagan rituals and celebrate different festivals that started as noble and good but devolved into falling-down-drunk village fests that often include sexual immorality and even satanic elements from the Santa Muerte death cult. These festivals have become part and parcel of village life, and all villagers are forced to financially support them or risk the wrath of officials. When village leaders persecute evangelicals for refusing to participate in the festivals, they are left defenseless as county, state and federal officials side with the local politicians or even collude with them to punish the new Christians.
Casto’s Story
Casto’s story is just one of the many that ICC and Christian Solidarity Worldwide have uncovered in Mexico that exposes the extensive and serious persecution of Christians and a culture of intolerance in Mexico. In 2012, two years after converting to Christianity, Casto Hernandez, 34, began preaching and leading a Bible study in his home in Hidalgo state. As his influence grew,
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Michoacan Top Smoke can be seen from afar as a
church in Mexico’s Michoacan state is burned to the ground by hostile villagers on May 10. The church’s destruction is just one example of the persecution evangelical Christians are facing in Mexico.
Bottom A young boy surveys the ruins of
an apostolic church in the village of Santa Fe de la Laguna. The villagers utilized a tractor and sledge hammers to completely demolish the walls and foundations.
more believers in the village began rejecting the pagan rituals performed by many around them. In April 2014, he was summoned by community leaders without explanation and then told he could not use his home for the gatherings.
Unconstitutional Government “Fixes” According to Casto, Emilio Hernandez, the delegate of the village at the time, pressured him to sign a document prohibiting him from practicing his faith. When he refused, the leaders signed his signature in his place, but Casto continued to practice his constitutional right over the next year. On March 12, 2015, a new community delegate, Jesus Dominguez Hernandez, summoned Casto to appear before the village council again. Casto’s cousin, Juan, 25, joined him. Casto was told that villagers had complained about him using his home to share his faith, and the village council presented him with a document similar to the one signed a year earlier. Feeling the full weight of the village and facing 50 ex-delegates, Casto prayed, took a deep breath, and refused to turn away from the Lord. The council demanded again that he sign the document that would take away his constitutional right to worship and practice his faith. Again, Casto stood firm, telling the village officials he could not “live an amoral life, but must live a virtuous life.”
Casto stood firm, telling the village officials he could not “live an amoral life, but must live a virtuous one.” PERSECU ION.org
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He steadied himself, believing God would give him the wisdom and strength for anything that followed. The delegate became very angry and reminded Casto he could cause him significant pain and the loss of all his possessions if he continued to defy him. “The devil offers me the world, but Christ offers me eternal life,” Casto Hernandez replied. “I’ve done nothing wrong. I have not hurt anyone or insulted anyone. I just want to live a godly life, the one that God asks of me.” Failing to comply, Casto and his cousin were imprisoned. For the next 30 hours, Casto was repeatedly pressured to sign the document so that he could be freed. Two days later, at 3 a.m., both men were released from prison. Casto reported that the delegates then threatened to burn the homes of the other evangelical members of the community, so he decided to leave his home and land. The delegates manufactured a document claiming he voluntarily left town. As a result, he has not been permitted to return.
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‘The devil offers me the world, but Christ offers me eternal life. I’ve done nothing wrong. I have not hurt anyone or insulted anyone. I just want to live a godly life, the one that God asks of me.’
Moving Forward A Mexican human rights organization is representing his case before a state-level human rights commission, but Casto and Juan have been receiving death threats and continued pressure to withdraw the case or pursue an informal resolution — efforts which indicate the village leaders believe the cousins have a strong case. Other new Christians are dealing with the same issues. In another case, according to our sources, a group of Christian victims sought to meet with the same delegate, Jesus Dominguez Hernandez, on April 24 for further discussions on their case. Sources tell us that Hernandez became infuriated and threatened to kill them. What we have found is that, for many evangelical Christians in Mexico, persecution is a constant issue they have to live with. State and county officials either ignore their cases or collude with the village officials to persecute the Christians.
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STRUCK DOWN, BUT NOT DESTROYED
O
n Sunday, May 10, a Sunday school teacher from the Apostolic Faith in Jesus Christ Church in Michoacán, Mexico, walked outside her church service to investigate a commotion she heard. Upon seeing the angry mob with a bulldozer that had clearly gathered to attack their church, she ran inside to warn the pastor and lay people of the unfolding attack. Pastor Angel Gutierrez was already aware that a disaster was about to befall them. Although Pastor Gutierrez had only a few minutes to prepare his congregation for the attack, he calmly instructed the people to stay seated and avoid a confrontation with the mob. However, as he was speaking to the congregation, his jaw dropped as he saw and heard the bulldozer and tractors the mob had brought. It was then that he realized they would destroy the freshly poured foundation of their new, large church building, for which they had saved their money for years. The roaring of tractors and bulldozers, as well as the sound of the breaking concrete, terrified the children, who began to cry en masse. The congregation emptied out of the church and begged the alleged leader of the mob, Felix Perez Gaspar, not to destroy their church home. Their appeals were met only with hatred as Gaspar reportedly threatened to crush them with the bulldozer. As the foundation was being demolished, another group sprayed gasoline on the simple structure they had used for years as their main sanctuary. In an effort to rescue valuables belonging to the church, some of the members of the congregation ran inside to collect the valuables, despite the fact that the mob had set fire to the building. In a matter of minutes, the hut that once served as their place of worship burst into flames and burned to the ground.
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Pastor Gutierrez refused to give in to anger during the crisis in spite of the verbal and physical abuse he suffered during the attack. He never once displayed anger or even frustration. These appalling events were all recorded on video: a visual record of the religious persecution affecting the rural areas of Mexico. Despite the concrete evidence of religious intolerance and persecution, community leaders are still denying that the Michoacán case was religiously motivated. Yet, in the 23-minute video obtained by ICC, which captures the destruction and burning of the church buildings, community officials of the San Juan district bluntly justify their actions on the basis that the community had reached an agreement to stop construction of the new Christian church due to the fact that the group was evangelical. For many members of this community, the actions which occurred on May 10 are deeply disturbing and painful. The parents of the children say it has deeply affected their kids, who are suffering from the psychological trauma they endured. Many parents report that their children are waking up at night and screaming, “They burn us!” Sadly, these Christians still do not understand why their community would be targeted. For several years, their presence has promoted family values and morality within the community, but for some village members of Santa Fe, local customs outweigh the Word of God.
Photos
Top A villager takes a sledge hammer to
the freshly poured foundation of a new evangelical church in Michoacán, Mexico.
Bottom Community leaders admitted on
video obtained by ICC that the villagers agreed to halt the construction of a new church in the village because its members were evangelical. PERSECU ION.org
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Photos - Top and Bottom
A fledgling church burns after local villagers conspired together to halt its construction. A video obtained by ICC shows the villagers dousing the church in kerosene and setting it on fire after tearing down its walls and foundation with bulldozers.
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Feature Article
In the Bull’s-eye
Father John Ssenyondo,
a Ugandan priest who had been ministering in a small parish in Mexico, was found among 13 others in a mass grave. He is one of nine priests known to have been murdered in the area in the past two years alone.
Mexico:
J
The World’s Most Dangerous Place to be a Priest ust before midnight on December 21, 2014, four armed men broke into a Catholic seminary. The priest, a native of the area who was born just 80 miles to the north, was taken captive. Four days later, on Christmas Day, his body was found. He had been executed; his body was left on the side of the highway, leading out of town. Where did this brutal murder take place? Syria, perhaps? Was he killed at the hands
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of brutal Islamic jihadists? Maybe northern Nigeria — another victim of a Boko Haram seeking to drive Christians out of the region? No, this execution was in Altamirano, Mexico. Father Gregorio Lopez Gorostieta was the third priest killed in this part of southern Mexico in just the last four months of 2014.
For the Love of Christ The killing of Father Gregorio was yet another reminder of the incredible dangers
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that priests face in parts of Mexico. “This is another priest added to those who have died for their love of Christ,” Bishop Maximino Martinez lamented. In September, the Reverend Ascension Acuna Osorio was killed, and his body was discovered in the river near his parish. In November, Father John Ssenyondo’s body was identified as one of 13 found in a mass grave in a nearby town. Father John was a Ugandan priest who had been working in a small parish since 2010. He was kidnapped in April, and his whereabouts were unknown for six months. AUGUST 2015
Father Gregorio Lopez Gorostieta
was the third priest murdered in a four-month span in an area of Mexico known to be one of the most hostile and dangerous to priests. Kidnapped from a Catholic seminary by armed men, his body was found four days later on the side of the road. The murder of Father Gregorio was a reminder of the ineffective campaign as it came just a month after the Special Security Operation was initiated. “We are afraid and we wonder to ourselves who will be next,” said Father Fidencio, still grieving the death of his former student. “There is a heavy security presence, but nothing has changed,” said Father Javier. “Kidnappings, abductions, charging protection money from the business owners — and all this while there is a lot of security. The people don’t have enough confidence to report a crime to the authorities.” Local officials and law enforcement agencies are rife with such corruption that it makes any real security nearly impossible and leaves everyone, especially priests, worried who the next target will be.
Strife and Confiscation
In total, nine priests are known to have been killed in the past two years, according to the Catholic Multimedia Center, and another two are still missing. Thirty-one priests have been killed in the past decade, according to the Mexican Catholic Bishop’s Conference. The exact motive behind the killings is not always known. What is known is that drug cartels control the area, and anyone who could challenge their authority is viewed as a potential target. Father Javier, vicar of judicial affairs for the Altamirano diocese and a classmate of Father Gregorio, explained the danger priests face in identifying with their people. “The priests in this region have been calling for peace and justice for the people of this region. Because there is violence, there are kidnappings, there are extortions all the
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time, there are murders — entire families have disappeared, entire towns in the sierra have disappeared,” Father Javier said. “So we do demand justice and we do speak up and make demands. But what more can we do if the government can’t keep us safe?” The area where much of the violence takes place is known as Tierra Caliente (Hot Lands). It has been the site not only of other murders, but of carjackings, abductions and drive-by shootings. It is the same area where 43 student protestors were allegedly arrested by local officials and then turned over to a cartel where they were executed and burned alive. In response, the federal government declared a Special Security Operation for Tierra Caliente. The security forces were intended to put a stop to this kind of violence, but little has changed.
The role of the priest and the Catholic Church has been a contentious part of life since the earliest days of Mexican independence. The church has held a strong influence over not only the spiritual life of the people, but also the cultural and political life, as well. As early as the constitution of 1857, the Mexican government has been battling to maintain the separation of church and state, with a particular emphasis on limiting the role of the priests. By 1917, all church properties were nationalized, many churches and monasteries were closed and the clergy was severely restricted. In some cases, like the Cristero War of the 1920s, the opposition to these strict laws turned violent, and clashes erupted between the supporters of the church and the state. For 70 years, until 1992, no church was officially recognized by the state, limiting many of the rights of the church to own property or carry out other core functions. The 1992 constitutional reforms granted many religious freedoms, removing most anticlerical laws and giving religious organizations the right to own property. The government, however, has not returned the properties that were previously confiscated. Mexico continues to navigate a difficult path of religious freedoms. For those who dare to speak out for justice, the costs can often be deadly.
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