Remembered as prophet for the poor, dispossessed, Mexico says goodbye to slain priest

Slain Father Marcelo Pérez was buried in his birthplace amid indignation and demands for justice.

Father Pérez, an Indigenous Tzotzil priest in the Diocese of San Cristóbal de las Casas, was remembered for protecting the poor and dispossessed, while seeking dialogue where possible and always denouncing injustice in an increasingly violent region.

"Father Marcelo took special care of the poorest, the weakest, the most unprotected, and he protected them from abusive people, from powerful people, from people who feel they own society and the land and who do not mind harming the lives of others to enrich themselves or to acquire greater political power to get everything they want," retired Bishop José Raúl Vera López of Saltillo said during an emotional open-air Mass attended by hundreds of villagers in San Andrés Larrainzar.

"He was especially concerned about people whose dignity was damaged by unfair treatment from authorities or from abusive people. This, dear sisters and brothers, is what the Lord Jesus Christ tells us today," said Bishop Vera, who was coadjutor bishop in San Cristóbal de las Casas when Father Pérez entered the minor seminary.

"This is why he died as a prophet with his word, which is the word of God."

Mourners at his burial shouted, "Viva Padre Marcelo!" and, "Marcelo, friend, the people are with you."

But the impact of Father Perez's death hit hard in Chiapas and drew widespread condemnation from Catholics across the country, along with many in Mexican society. Father Pérez had endured threats, and previous assassination attempts for his work mediating disputes, attending to victims of violence and confronting political bosses and criminal groups.

His murder came as the southern state of Chiapas -- long rife with poverty, inequality and discrimination against Indigenous groups -- convulsed with drug cartels violence, which has emptied villages and sent hundreds fleeing to neighboring Guatemala.

Father Pérez was shot dead after celebrating Mass in San Cristóbal de las Casas on Oct. 20. Security camera footage showed the priest leaving the church, climbing into his car and being shot through the window by an assailant who fled the scene.

Chiapas Gov. Rutilio Escandón announced Oct. 22 that a suspect had been arrested. President Claudia Sheinbaum announced earlier the same day that the federal prosecutor's office would investigate the crime.

Sheibaum, who took office Oct. 1, used her Oct. 22 morning press conference to highlight the "perception of insecurity" survey from the state statistics institute, INEGI, which she said showed an improved security situation.

"In the country, people feel more secure than in 2018" -- when her predecessor and mentor, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office -- and even more so "than in 2013," she said.

She said of the situation in Chiapas: "It's important to work to ensure that a situation like this does not happen again, that there are no displacements and to pacify, and to avoid extortion and crimes that are occurring."

The president's reaction reflected a tendency from the ruling Morena party to downplay violence, even as it spread into previously placid parts of the country.

Father Pérez, however, spoke out on violence in Chiapas throughout his priesthood -- and especially as violence intensified in Chiapas.

He told reporters covering a march for peace convened Sept. 13 by Chiapas' three Catholic dioceses, "In many communities and municipalities, violence is really unbearable."

Father Pérez was born in San Andrés Larrainzar, an Indigenous Tzotzil town known for the San Andrés Accords signed in 1996 by the Zapatista Army of National Liberation and the Mexican government after an uprising by the Zapatistas for Indigenous rights.

He entered the minor seminary as a teenager and was ordained in 2002. He was a rare Indigenous priest in a diocese with more than 400 married Indigenous deacons, who were ordained by Bishop Samuel Ruiz Garcia -- who promoted an autochthonous church in Chiapas -- to better serve remote communities without priests.

Father Pérez served early on in his priesthood in the municipality of Chenalhó, scene of a notorious 1997 Acteal massacre of a pacifist Catholic group known as Las Abejas that claimed 45 lives. But after eight years in the divided community, he achieved community participation "without ideological differences or political positions in liturgical assemblies," Jesuit Father Pedro Arriaga, told OSV News.

He later worked to find peace during his next assignment in Pantelhó, where an armed group revolted against a local strongman -- leading to a warrant being issued for his arrest.

He always strove for peace, but it wasn't without risks. Would-be assassins rigged his car's electrical system to explode, but it malfunctioned, according to Father Arriaga. Another time they loosened the wheels. He was urged to leave the diocese, but Father Pérez refused to flee.

"There were constant threats," said Father Arriaga, a former diocesan spokesman in San Cristóbal de las Casas.

He remembered Father Pérez as "prophetic," describing him as "always being on the side of the poor, very radical and not afraid to make statements to the press.

"He considered death as a possibility for denouncing this situation."