The catholic church and the drug war

A recent article well worth reading from The Christian Science Monitor, entitled "Growing Catholic divide over Mexico drug war," portrays José Raúl Vera López of Saltillo, the very progressive-minded bishop of Saltillo:

Bishop José Raúl Vera López of Mexico has never shied away from controversy, defending unpopular minorities ranging from illegal migrants to prostitutes. 

Now, as violence between Mexican drug traffickers and security forces pushes the drug war's five-year death toll over 45,000, the Roman Catholic bishop is taking on the government. He claims that corrupt officials are allying with criminals to skim drug profits and using the military to murder criminals who might reveal any collusion

Roderic Ai Camp is cited as suggesting the main reason the church is generally staying out of commenting on the drug "war" is out of desire not to undermine Mexico's security institutions. Camp has few rivals when it comes to the breadth and scope of his research and knowledge of Mexico, but he has often gone way too soft on the church in his writing, and I think this claim only reflects one reason why the church is not saying/doing more - and not only that of the generous "narco donations," though that reason surely warrants mention.

The great bishop Raúl Vera receives threats - from whom?

Raúl Vera, bishop of Saltillo, and one of the very few of the top layers of the Mexican Catholic church with a demonstrated care for the poor, has been threatened with narco-style anonymous banners or mantas, containing messages such as "We want a Catholic Bishop" and "We Want the Bishop Only to Talk about Religion."

Vera is known for his defense of human rights and work on behalf of poor and marginalized sectors, and defending the rights of migrants, workers, women, gays, and others.

The usually arch-conservative Conferencia del Episcopado Mexicano (CEM) to its credit found it wise to express its support for Vera, while the vicar general of the diocese of Saltillo noted that the banners could have been placed there by both conservative catholic groups, and factions of organized crime.

Which are far too often, unfortunately, the very same.

Don Samuel Ruíz: The "miracle" is that he lived to die of natural causes at 86

Don Samuel Ruíz: A wonderful and thoughtful obituary, of sorts, by Laura Carlsen of the CIP Americas Program, that also touches on a most uncomfortable truth, given the onslaught of popes John Paul II and Benedixt XVI on liberation theology and the progressive gains of the Vatican II, of which Samuel Ruíz was a participant: With the most honorable exception of Raul Vera, bishop of Saltillo, Coahuila, how many of the progressive catholics remain in the upper echelons of the church? To me it seems sadly to be very few, given its rightward turn the past two decades or so.

Norway honors bishop Raúl Vera López with Rafto Prize

Norway, the most secular of nations, honored Mexican Bishop Raúl Vera López of Saltillo with the Rafto Prize, given annually to defenders of human rights and democracy. The Rafto Foundation for Human rights deems Vera López "an uncompromising critic of power abuse and a fearless defender of migrants, indigenous peoples, and other groups at risk in Mexican society." How very true. Bishop Vera López has stood up not only against the Federal government in defense of particularly Mexico's indigenous, but also against powerful conservative sectors in the Roman Catholic church who loathes his incessant social activism.

Note that Vera López is originally from Guanajuato, home to many of the most reactionary, bigoted, anti-democratic elements of the catholic church. To paraphrase a line once attributed to Trotsky - if only more of the Mexican clergy were like him, I'd be a catholic too.