Mexico City, Mexico, Jul 6, 2017 / 03:31 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Authorities are investigating the murder of another Catholic priest in Mexico who was bound and stabbed to death in his room.
According to local media, Father Luis López Villa, parish priest of San Isidro Labrador in Mexico State, was found dead in his room shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday.
The suspects, who entered the rectory after breaking into the church, made enough noise to raise the suspicions of neighbors, who alerted church staff to the incident.
When the staff arrived, they found the 71-year-old priest dead in his room with his hands and feet tied and a stab wound in his neck and chest.
The suspects have not yet been identified.
Fr. Villa is the 18th priest to be murdered in Mexico in the last six years, with many more having been assaulted or kidnapped. In May, a priest was stabbed at the conclusion of Mass in Mexico City’s Cathedral, though he survived the attack.
Cardinal Norberto Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico, sent his condolences “of the Diocese of Nezahualcóyotl and of the whole Church in the country for the murder of the priest.”
Cardinal Rivera said he offered his prayers in solidarity with the other bishops of the country, and prayed “to God our Lord for the eternal rest of the priest and the conversion of those who perpetrated this damnable deed.”
The Mexican Cardinal also urged the authorities to ensure that “this heinous crime does not go unpunished.”
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Alex Schadenberg of the Euthanasia Prevention Coalition speaks with listeners at a March 2023 presentation at St. Nicholas Church in Langley, British Columbia, Canada. “Most people ask for euthanasia because they are going through a difficult ti… […]
Lima, Peru, May 7, 2020 / 06:00 am (CNA).- Two priests in a rural area of Peru aimed to fight the coronavirus pandemic by finding a way to supply oxygen tanks, much needed for medical treatment, to their region.
The recent death of two doctors from coronavirus in Iquitos, Peru, underscored the hard-hit region’s shortage of medical equipment and medications. Both doctors died because of the lack of oxygen to treat them.
The Medical Corps of Hospital III of Iquitos and the Medical College of Peru said in a joint statement last month that there is a shortage of medications in the Loreto region, and its capital Iquitos is “one of the cities hardest hit by the infection.”
“We don’t have medications” to treat coronavirus patients and “not enough oxygen tanks, pressure gauges and refilled tanks,” they reported.
One doctor was in intensive care at Loreto Regional Hospital and the other at a hospital under the country’s universal health insurance program, both in Iquitos, the Medical College of Peru said on social media.
Fr. Raymond Portelli, a parish pastor in Iquitos, along with the diocesan administrator of the Apostolic Vicariate of Iquitos, Fr. Miguel Fuertes, decided to start a fundraising campaign to acquire an oxygen plant for the city.
Portelli himself is a doctor caring for COVID-19 patients.
To purchase the machinery, they needed to raise about $118,000.
The city does have an oxygen plant, but it only produces between 100 and 160 tanks a day. The dean of the Medical College of Peru, Miguel Palacios, told local media that quantity is not enough and that current production would need to be tripled.
The priests’ campaign was launched the morning of May 3 on social media, and in less than a day, they had raised about $300,000.
Both priests thanked contributors, and said that thanks to the amount collected, a “high capacity” plant could be purchased for Iquitos.
Portelli added that Fuentes is currently in Lima coordinating with a specialist for the acquisition of the plant.
“Pray a lot that this work can be accomplished quickly. May God bless all who have contributed. We hope to continue to cover all the expenses,” he added.
This story was first published by CNA’s Spanish-language news partner, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.
Polish dancers at the reception following this year’s World Day for Migrants and Refugees Mass at St. Paul’s Parish in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, on Sept. 23, 2023. / Credit: Nicholas Elbers
Vancouver, Canada, Oct 7, 2023 / 07:00 am (CNA).
Eastern European floral prints were resplendent next to elaborate Asian headdresses at this year’s Mass celebrating the annual World Day for Migrants and Refugees on Sept. 23 in Richmond, British Columbia.
The event’s attendance was back to pre-COVID numbers, and St. Paul’s Church in Richmond was packed to capacity. An African choir provided music during Communion, and several hundred people attended a post-Mass reception with ethnic food served from many of the cultures present and performances by cultural choirs and dancers.
Attendees at the post-Mass reception with ethnic food served from many of the cultures present and performances by cultural choirs and dancers, Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 23, 2023. Credit: Nicholas Elbers
In his homily, Father Richard Zanotti said it’s essential that migrants and refugees don’t get blamed for seeking a life of dignity.
“The universality of the Church is made visible by all of you gathered for this Eucharist, many cultures around one table to celebrate God’s love for us all,” said the Scalabrinian pastor of St. Ann’s, where he works with migrant workers in the Fraser Valley.
The Church teaches us that we all have a right to a life of dignity, replete with basic human needs like food, shelter, medical attention, and dignified work, he said.
Migrants and refugees must not be blamed for seeking a life of dignity, said Father Richard Zanotti at St. Paul’s Church at the Migrants and Refugees Mass in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 23, 2023. Credit: Nicholas Elbers
In his address for this year’s Day for Migrants and Refugees, Pope Francis said: “Since the world’s resources are not unlimited, the development of the economically poorer countries depends on the capacity for sharing that we can manage to generate among all countries.”
Until that happens, “many people will still have to emigrate in order to seek a better life, a life worthy of dignity,” the pope said.
Reflecting on the pope’s message, Zanotti said it’s important not to blame migrants and refugees but to look at the world’s responsibility for supporting poor countries so their people don’t feel compelled to leave.
“We pray for the political will to do this in a safe and orderly way,” Zanotti said.
Music minster at Migrants and Refugees Mass in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 23, 2023. Credit: Nicholas Elbers
‘If I was caught, it could mean death’: a refugee’s testimony
As is the custom after the Mass, the audience heard from a Catholic refugee who shared her story of coming to Canada.
This year’s testimony came from an Eritrean woman who shared how she escaped the injustice of her home country. She asked that her name not be published.
A refugee from Eritrea (pictured here with her family) shared her 10-year journey to find freedom at the post-Mass reception following this year’s World Day for Migrants and Refugees Mass at St. Paul’s Parish in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada, Sept. 23, 2023. Credit: Nicholas Elbers
“Thirteen years ago, I decided to leave Eritrea, the country that I grew up in and I loved.
“Under dictatorship, soldiers had put us forever in slavery. Life was unbearable, and we were working unpaid for the government.” One day she went with a friend to a shoe store to buy plastic sandals, she said, “the kind our freedom fighters wore during the 30-year war for independence in my country. I was ready for my journey to freedom in my freedom shoes.”
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