Mexican Catholics urge officials to 'listen to victims' amid grisly discovery of mass graves

(OSV News) -- Mexico's Catholic leaders prayed for the country's missing and urged the population of the country and their political leaders to listen to victims of violence amid outrage over the discovery of mass graves and ovens for cremating bodies on a drug cartel compound.

Families of the missing held a procession March 16 in the town of Teuchitlán, 40 miles west of Guadalajara -- site of the compound -- and later attended a Mass celebrated for the missing.

"Let us not tire of searching for our missing persons, of pressuring our authorities," Auxiliary Bishop Engelberto Polino Sánchez of Guadalajara said in his homily. "That is why these demonstrations are important, to bring visibility and not minimize this situation we are experiencing."

The discovery of an extermination camp has horrified many in Mexico, where nearly two decades of drug cartel violence has seemingly inured the population to such atrocities.

Mexico's Catholic leaders accompanied families of victims of violence, along with civil society in protests and vigils. Priests prayed for victims and the country as protesters gathered March 15 in the Zócalo, a massive square in central Mexico City.

The Mass for the missing was celebrated at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Mexico City, where families clutched images of their loved ones and draped their photos on the steps leading to the altar.

"I call on the authorities to listen to victims," Auxiliary Bishop Francisco Acero Pérez of Mexico City said in his homily. "I wish we would all take a pick and shovel and go search with them" -- referring to the families searching -- "but if we cannot do that, let us at least heed their first demand, which is 'listen to us.'"

A collective of families known as Warrior Searchers of Jalisco -- one of the many groups combing the country for their missing kin -- discovered the site. They say that they discovered ovens, bone fragments, more than 200 pairs of shoes and figurines of the folkloric Santa Muerte -- an image of the "Holy Death" that church leaders have condemned as satanic.

"We cannot remain silent in the face of such cruelty," said a statement from the National Dialogue for Peace, a church pacification initiative.

"Each shoe is a story of pain and a life frustrated by evil. Each bone is a call to transform this country of clandestine cemeteries. And each candle we light is a commitment to peace and justice, to security and community."

The Mexican bishops' conference decried the atrocity as an "irresponsible failure of government authorities." The bishops also pointed to statistics showing homicides dropping, while disappearances were increasing.

President Claudia Sheinbaum, however, criticized the bishops' conference, saying March 13, "They don't have the correct information."

She again downplayed the atrocity in Teuchitlán -- like others in her party -- saying March 16, "You see the adversaries, now they want to continue their dirty campaign, their smear campaign."

Sheinbaum has reversed the "hugs, not bullets" security strategy of her predecessor, former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, since taking office Oct. 1, as U.S. President Donald Trump threatens tariffs if Mexico doesn't halt fentanyl and migrants crossing the U.S. border.

Jesuit Father Jorge Atilano told OSV News that he sees the change in security strategy as he travels the country as director of the National Dialogue for Peace, a church pacification initiative. He also said, "I see violence from the control that exists on the part of criminal groups in the territories."

He concurred with the bishops' conference statement, which said homicides were decreasing, but disappearances were increasing – an assertion Sheinbaum has disagreed with.

A March 16 editorial in the Archdiocese of Mexico City publication Desde la Fe urged the president to listen to the victims of violence.

"These are not our numbers; they are the ones that have been reported so many times that hearing of them has become commonplace," the editorial said.

"We have been outraged by violence so many times that we have stopped being outraged. Amid this deafening noise of numbers, pain, and acts of violence, we have stopped listening to those who suffer. Our listening has disappeared, and we must recover it."