Mexican priest moved to intermediate care after stabbing attack

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Buenos Aires, Argentina, Nov 19, 2024 / 15:05 pm (CNA).
“With a supreme and definitive decision,” Pope Francis expelled from the clerical state for the crime of schism Fernando María Cornet, an Argentine w… […]

Mexico City, Mexico, Jun 29, 2018 / 05:17 pm (ACI Prensa).- Various civil organizations in Mexico, including one dedicated to the philosophy of St. Thomas More, have urged politicians participating in the upcoming general election to re-establish peace and justice in the country.

By signing of the “Pact for Peace,” the organizations stressed that “We educational, social, political and governmental actors must all be united  in order to strengthen the essential conditions for peace: the promotion of ethical, human and social values of respect and peaceful coexistence. The prevention of violence, drugs and crime. Social dialogue and conciliation.”

The signatories include National Parents Union, the Mexican Commission for Human Rights, the Citizen Coordinator, the Fundación Tomás Moro, and the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice.

Mexico’s July 1 general election will determine the country’s president as well as all of the members of the federal legislature. Many regional and local positions will also be voted on.

The Mexican civil organizations also expressed their rejection of campaign promises such as the creation of an “armed civilian guard.”

The signers encouraged “the Armed Forces to remain as long as necessary (performing) domestic security duties to protect citizens,” and at the same time they called for “the prohibition and dissolution of self-defense groups” and “the dismantling of armed organized crime gangs.”

They also asked the winners of the July 1 electoral contest to establish as public policy in the different levels of the government a substantial improvement in “care and assistance for crime victims and their families who are demanding justice and solidarity.”

“We social organizations that are fighting for peace demand from the political actors the commitment to create a social and political climate of peace and to resolve their conflicts without creating chaos, making threats, or encouraging acts of vengeance.”

The civil organizations also urged the authorities who are elected to work with “transparency” against corruption and that they provide “justice against impunity.”

“We ask the president of Mexico to report quarterly to the National Public Safety Council and to make the information public so society can evaluate the results in abating impunity, crime and vioence. And that the Council report on the performance of the public prosecutors, criminal judges and magistrates,” they said.

They then encouraged that there be order in the prisons and at the same time neither “hatred nor amnesty.”

“We urge that the prisons be put in order so they are not schools of criminality, that sentences be served with social work and that their assimilation back into society be effective with the participation of social organizations,” they stated.

The Pact for Peace concluded by urging candidates to accept the results of the July 1 elections and “in the case of disagreements,” that they turn to the board of elections and the other legally competent authorities.

More than 100 politicians have been killed across Mexico ahead of the general election.

On June 21, Ocampo mayoral candidate Fernando Ángeles Juárez was killed by unknown gunmen, the BBC reported. When federal forces arrived to investigate the killing, they were stopped by local police. The entire local police force of the city in Michoacan state has since been detained.

 

 

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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ACI Prensa Staff, Mar 27, 2024 / 16:00 pm (CNA).

The Archdiocese of Quito and the communications office of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress Quito 2024 reported that on March 25, Monday of Holy Week, Ecuador renewed its historic consecration to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, first carried out 150 years ago.

Archbishop Alfredo José Espinoza Mateus of Quito offered the solemn Mass in the Basilica of the National Vow in the Ecuadorian capital, where the original painting showing the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus is kept.

The ceremony, concelebrated by various bishops and priests, was also attended by civil and ecclesial authorities.

According an article posted on the archdiocesan website, Espinoza explained that the renewal is “a gift that makes us raise our hearts grateful to the Lord of life.”

“Today let us renew our trust in the Lord. We know that the final victory does not belong to those who kill, nor will our lives be safe by allying ourselves with the powerful of this world. Given what we are experiencing today, let us not despair,” Espinoza said.

In his homily, the archbishop condemned the violence, corruption, and drug trafficking that has plagued the country. Given the current situation, the archbishop emphasized, it is necessary “to renew our consecration, to say once and for all: Everything is yours; save Ecuador!”

The historic consecration

“The history of devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus began in the 16th century, and it did not take long to reach Ecuador,” explained the communications office of the 53rd International Eucharistic Congress Quito 2024 (IEC 2024).

This eventually led to the historic consecration of Ecuador on March 25, 1874, carried out by order of the country’s president at the time, Gabriel García Moreno, with the support of the Vatican along with that of the then-archbishop of Quito, José Ignacio Checa y Barba.

Ecuador thus became the first country consecrated to the Sacred Heart. In 1884, it also became the first country where a national Eucharistic congress was held, according to the IEC 2024 article.

The International Eucharistic Congress that will be held Sept. 8–15 in Quito has as its theme “Fraternity to Heal the World.”

It is possible, although it has yet to be confirmed, that Pope Francis will attend the closing Mass.

Registration for the International Eucharistic Congress, both for the symposium to be held from Sept. 4–7 and for the congress itself from Sept. 8–15, opened on Jan. 31 on the event’s website. 

Prayer to renew the consecration of Ecuador to the Sacred Heart of Jesus

The Archdiocese of Quito published the prayer promulgated by the Ecuadorian Bishops’ Conference that was used for renewing the country’s consecration to the Sacred Heart:

Lord Jesus,

with a grateful spirit,

we come to renew our consecration to your Sacred Heart.

We are yours, and we want to walk with you.

Give us a meek and humble heart to be obedient to the will of the Father;

worshippers in spirit and in truth,

and joyful missionaries of your kingdom.

Heart of Jesus that unites us in the holy home of Nazareth,

With the same sentiment as Mary and Joseph, protect our Ecuadorian families,

Grant them a wise heart

to hear your words of life,

a heart grateful for daily bread,

a generous heart with those most in need,

and a merciful heart toward our brothers.

Heart of Jesus,

beacon of light and truth,

make us strong in love and hope,

to grow in respect for life, to be wise custodians of the common home and to live an authentic fraternity.

May it heal the wounds of the world

and drive away every shadow of division from our country.

Heart of Jesus

pierced with love on the cross,

from whose wounded side

the water of life and the blood of love sprang forth,

grant us wisdom and strength,

to break down every wall of selfishness and exclusion,

all forms of violence and injustice,

and all acts of corruption and impunity.

Heart of Jesus,

May your peace reign among us again. Teach us to listen, like Mary,

to the cry of the poor,

to commit ourselves to them.

God of loves, Holy Eucharist,

look at the people of your heart.

Save Ecuador!

Amen.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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