Mexico: Most dangerous country for Roman Catholic priests

According to Religion Digital reporting on 1 April 2017, the Media Catholic Center (MCC) has brought out its 2016 report stating that Mexico is - for the 8^th year running - the most dangerous country for Roman Catholic church life. In the last three years at least 15 priests have been found murdered and the numbers are likely to rise. Drug trafficking cartels are assumed to be the killers. A report by the Mexican Commission for the Defense and Promotion of Human Rights (as discussed by Excelsior on 15 April 2017), states that displacement in the interior of the country is mainly due to religious reasons, land conflicts and insecurity. Rossana Ramirez, working for World Watch Research, comments: "As we can see, in Mexico there is serious ongoing persecution through organized criminal activity. This not only affects priests but also Christians in general; in the cities of Hidalgo and Oaxaca, the fear of being murdered, abducted or otherwise persecuted has caused many Christians to leave their homes. It seems that the Mexican government minimizes this problem and is currently unwilling to take effective measures. Christian organizations continue to monitor the situation."