On 24 March 2017, the Mexican Bishops" Conference reported that the indigenous Catholic priest, Felipe Altamirano Carrillo, was
killed on the same day in Nayarit State. The official statement did not mention who the killers were. Catholic priests in Mexico are a common target for persecution and threats by criminal organizations. As reported in an article by the news platform Hoy on 4 April 2017, Alejandro Solandine is another Catholic priest who has been receiving
death threats for his criticism of the government and its links to networks of organized crime. Also, negotiations are still underway with the
kidnappers of the Roman Catholic priest, Oscar Lopez Navarro, to secure his release, as reported by Proceso on 29 March 2017. Due to threats to church leaders and the inactivity of the government - not to mention the fact that roughly 170 people are killed each month in Guerrero State - Bishop Salvador Rangel Mendoza has personally initiated a
round of talks with leaders of the crime-world, as reported by Religion in Freedom on 30 March 2017.
Rossana Ramirez, working for World Watch Research, explains: "So far this year the number of murders and kidnappings of Christians seems to be increasing.
Evidence (as compiled by El Universal on 1 April 2017) shows how churches engaging in social work threaten the interests of organized crime and suffer hostilities as a result. Unfortunately, there has been an increase in violence against church pastoral work over the last four years. 17 attacks against Catholic priests have been reported in the current present governmental period‚ and more than 80% of these have gone unpunished since they are not officially classified as cases of religious intolerance but simply as being the "˜result of personal problems". This ambiguous phrase serves as an alibi for the authorities to ignore the crimes. Instead of justice, what prevails is the defamation of the church leaders. If these crimes were classified as acts of political intolerance, they would probably gain more public attention and lead to police action and prosecution."
