Chilpancingo, Mexico, Mar 31, 2017 / 05:08 am
A bishop in Mexico's Guerrero state, which suffers the most from drug- and gang-related violence, recently met with gang leaders in order to protect priests who were receiving death threats.
Bishop Salvador Rangel Mendoza of Chilpancingo-Chilapa told Radio Fórmula March 27 that since he came to the diocese in June 2015 his great concern has been to "promote peace, harmony, dialogue."
"When I saw that some priests had been threatened by them, including one quite seriously, I took up the task of going to go see these people (the gang leaders) and talking with them," he said.
Bishop Rangel related that he made the contact through third persons, and in his meetings he told the leaders of these gangs that "with the death (of a priest) we're not going to be able to settle anything," and that the situation in Guerrero will only deteriorate.