The AP reported Dec. 18 that "among specific measures, it would reportedly allow religious groups greater access to all manner of media, including TV, radio and newspapers, relax regulations on church ownership of property, provide for cooperation between church and state on cultural and social development and allow 'conscientious objections' to law on religious grounds."
It would also let church authorities offer spiritual services in government facilities including hospitals, rehabilitation centers and military institutions.
The separation of church and state in Mexico traces back to the mid 1800s when a series of reforms were instituted, particularly under the presidency of Benito Juarez. Church properties not used for worship and instruction, such as cemeteries, were nationalized. Birth and marriage records were placed under civil authority.
Tensions heightened at the beginning of the 20th century with the enactment of the 1917 Constitution and the "Calles Laws" instituted by then President Plutarco Elías Calles, which banned religious congregations and imposed restrictions on priests and public worship.
The Calles Laws sparked the Cristero rebellion for religious freedom in the late 1920s, leaving tens of thousands of government and rebel fighters dead. Although the war ended in 1929, religious persecution continued for a number of years afterwards.
It was not until the constitutional reforms of 1992 and the enactment of the Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship that same year that the Catholic Church was able to become a juridical person and monastic orders were no longer prohibited.