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<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\nConference president Bishop Ram\u00f3n Castro Castro of Cuernavaca delivered the 200-page book \u2014 titled \u201cOne Name, a Thousand Voices\u201d \u2014 to Pope Leo in the Vatican on Oct. 8.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would like to say that this document bears witness to a prolonged episode in the life of a people numbed by so much violence. But it does not. If it were an episode, this story would have ended,\u201d the book said in the introduction. \u201cYet the faces and names of disappeared people over the past twenty years are part of a past that stubbornly insists on remaining in a present that seems to stretch on without end. A present that makes it impossible to imagine a habitable future that we can share.\u201d<\/p>\n
The introduction concluded, \u201cWe present these faces, these names of more than 132,000 people across the country, with profound respect for their pain, with a sincere and unwavering commitment not to look away, and with the conviction that we must organize hope around justice, shared responsibility, and truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
The book shares the names and photos of 1,152 individuals, along with the date of their disappearance and last known whereabouts. Several anecdotes on several of the missing are shared: a guitar left on a bed that hasn\u2019t been played since; a diary with a half told entry; a mother missing the past four birthdays of her children.<\/p>\n
\u201cTens of thousands of relationships, stories, tasks and objects have been suspended in silence as deafening as it is unfathomable, elusive, almost impossible to put into words,\u201d the document read.<\/p>\n
Mexico\u2019s bishops have raised the voices in recent years and urged Catholics to tend to Mexico\u2019s many victims of violence, along with embracing the cause of the \u201cMadres Buscadoras\u201d \u2014 the collectives of families, often led by mothers, who have formed to find their missing kin in the face of government indolence and indifference.<\/p>\n
Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican\u2019s secretary of state, met with some of the Madres Buscadoras on an August trip to Mexico and voiced support during a Mass celebrated at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe goal (of the book) is to demonstrate solidarity with groups of families searching for their loved ones by making Pope Leo aware of the tragedy our country is experiencing,\u201d said Jesuit Father Jorge Atilano, director of the National Dialogue for Peace, an initiative for pacifying Mexico sponsored by the Mexican bishops\u2019 conference, the Jesuits\u2019 Mexico province and the Conference of Religious Superiors of Mexico.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is about feeling accompanied by the pope, feeling united in this shared pain, and raising awareness of the reality our country is living through,\u201d the priest said.<\/p>\n
The bishops\u2019 advocacy for the families of the missing comes as Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum boasts of a sharp decrease in criminal activity since she took office two years ago, including a 51% drop in the homicide rate.<\/p>\n
Father Atilano said the homicide rate had dropped, but disappearances had increased. He added that many parts of Mexico remain under the control of drug cartels with local police forces compromised.<\/p>\n
\u201cHaving territorial control is profitable, for selling security services (extortion) to a company, for selling votes to a political party, for recruiting young people, or for imposing economic projects,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n
Mexico has proved dangerous for Catholic clergy, too. Father Rom\u00e1n de la Cruz Hern\u00e1ndez was found murdered Sept. 15 in central Hidalgo state. The state prosecutor Francisco Fern\u00e1ndez said Oct. 6 that it was following \u201ctwo lines of investigation,\u201d but declined to provide further detail.<\/p>\n
Bishop Juan Espinoza Jim\u00e9nez of Aguascalientes, meanwhile, received online threats from a social media influencer known as Jos\u00e9 L\u00e1piz. In an Oct. 1 post on X, Lapiz offered 40,000 pesos (roughly $2,175) for someone to attack the bishop, who has spoken out in homilies on Mexico\u2019s public security shortcomings.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, we hear talk at the national level of freedom and pluralism, yet threats of imprisonment are leveled against those who think differently or oppose decisions that harm our nation,\u201d Bishop Espinoza said in a Sept. 27 homily. \u201cWe also hear talk of national sovereignty, even as the country is handed over to criminals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aguascalientes state prosecutor Manuel Alonso Garc\u00eda told Radio Formula that an investigation is underway. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to wait for an aggression to occur to act,\u201d he said Oct. 7.<\/p>\n
Bishop Espinoza has promised to continue speaking forcefully.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Church has the duty to proclaim the Gospel, defend the dignity of every person, and raise her voice against whatever harms life, justice, peace, and the common good. This is part of my obligation as father and shepherd of this diocese,\u201d Bishop Espinoza said Oct. 11 in a statement.<\/p>\n
\u201cThreats should not lead us to fear, confrontation, or hatred \u2014 and certainly not to silence the truth.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2013 \u2013 \u2013
David Agren writes for OSV News from Buenos Aires, Argentina.
\u2013 \u2013 \u2013
BRIEF: ROME (OSV News) \u2014 Mexico\u2019s Catholic bishops have taken the country\u2019s disappearance crisis directly to Pope Leo XIV, presenting him with a 200-page book documenting the lives of people who have vanished amid ongoing violence and cartel influence across the country. The book, \u201cOne Name, a Thousand Voices,\u201d was delivered Oct. 8 by Bishop Ram\u00f3n Castro Castro, president of Mexico\u2019s bishops\u2019 conference. It highlights a national tragedy affecting more than 132,000 missing persons and includes the names, photos and stories of 1,152 individuals. \u201cWe would like to say that this document bears witness to a prolonged episode in the life of a people numbed by so much violence. But it does not. If it were an episode, this story would have ended,\u201d the introduction says. The bishops have increasingly supported the Madres Buscadoras, family-led search groups that look for missing relatives, often in the face of official inaction. Jesuit Father Jorge Atilano said the book aims to express solidarity with victims\u2019 families and make the pope aware of the country\u2019s suffering. The advocacy comes despite government claims of lower homicide rates. Church leaders warn disappearances are rising, cartel control remains widespread, and clergy who speak out continue to face threats and violence. Bishops say they will keep defending human dignity and speaking the truth despite intimidation.<\/p>\n
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