Mexico: A bullet-dodging bishop
In Guerrero, one of the most violent states in Mexico, faith is the last refuge for a people who live under the weight of organised crime. Bishop José de Jesus González of the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa carries out his pastoral mission with a commitment that has put him, quite literally, in the line of fire.
Bishop Gonzalez arrived in the diocese three years ago, following 12 years in the Prelature of Nayar, where he had already been exposed to serious dangers while ministering to indigenous communities.
Eleven months into his episcopal ministry in Nayar, he suffered an armed attack. “There were three of us in a van and they shot at us. They aimed for our heads, not for the tires. But when they saw that we were priests they apologised and offered to pay for the shattered windows. But what is important is that they didn’t send us to sing in the heavenly choir,” he recalls, during a visit to the international headquarters of Aid to the Church in Need (ACN), smiling despite the serious nature of the moment.
When the criminals realised that he was a bishop, they even asked for his blessing. This episode was an important milestone in the bishop’s ministry: At that moment he understood that his mission was not only to stand up for his faithful, but also to look with compassion on those who live in violence. “They are also my children, even though they are misguided,” he says.
It was a difficult episode, the bishop tells ACN, but it was key to helping him understand what Jesus expects from a shepherd in one of the most dangerous countries in the world in which to be a priest. “If He died for the love of me, then I must be willing to die for the love of others. And those ‘others’ include everybody, even the executioners.”
A diocese in a “hijacked State”
Bishop Gonzalez describes the situation in Guerrero as that of a state “hijacked” by organised crime. Armed groups administer their own justice, earn their own money and rule over large regions according to their own laws. Violence has become institutionalised. Roads are under the control of gangs; extorsion, disappearances and murder are part of daily life. The Church, the Bishop of Chilpancingo-Chilapa tells ACN, is seen as “the only voice that can speak for the people”. But using this voice comes with a price. Priests and community leaders have been murdered for defending justice and human dignity. Nonetheless, the bishop stresses, “If we are not brave, the people cry… and God weeps.” The Church’s commitment is more than just spiritual. Along with other bishops and priests, Bishop Gonzalez has opened listening centres for mothers in search of their missing children, offering human compassion, legal support and, above all, a warm embrace to all those who feel alone. “They want to feel part of the Church, protected. We can’t leave them to fend for themselves among the wolves that devour,” he explains.
Moving ahead: Faith as a shield and an engine
Bishop González does not shy away from the risks that come from the violence. He has seen priests killed for advocating for peace, and knows he could be next. But he continues to walk among his sheep, celebrating Masses, visiting families and, when necessary, standing up to the danger. “Prayer makes us brave to enter the fray,” he says, while asking everybody, inside and outside of Mexico, to pray for him and his diocese. “Pray for us. God does not abandon us, but we need to feel that you are close in order to move ahead.”
Over recent years, ACN has been supporting the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa with a number of projects, including the provision of Mass stipends for priests, repairs to a convent for religious sisters and support for the formation of clergy.
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