Mexican Priests Are 'Most Persecuted in the World' Carey Lodge - Christian Today
go to original October 17, 2014

Pope Francis with Mexico's President Enrique Pena Nieto during a private audience at the Vatican in June this year. The Vatican says Mexico is the country with the highest number of attacks on Catholic religious leaders in the world. (Reuters/Claudio Peri)

Mexican Catholic priests are among the most persecuted in the world, with attacks having increased by 80 per cent over the past two years, a new report has found.

Released by the Mexican Catholic Multimedia Centre (CCM), the report confirms that six priests have been murdered and three others the victim of forced disappearances since President Enrique Pena Nieto was elected in July 2012.

The Mexican government has been accused of being "unwilling" to protect the religious freedom of its people. CCM is urging authorities to "provide security in areas with a significant presence of organised crime."

Priests are often targeted as a result of denouncing criminal groups, or because they are working to help people exploited by violent gangs, such as victims of human trafficking or drug addicts. Churches are also seen as an attractive target for extortion and front for money laundering.

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