Nuncio joins in condemnation of attacks on Cathedral in Mexico City

Mexico City, Mexico, Nov 21, 2007 / 10:39 am

The Apostolic Nuncio in Mexico, Archbishop Christophe Pierre, has joined in condemning the attack on the Cathedral of Mexico City led by sympathizers of the Democratic Revolution Party (PRD), saying that all churches and people should be respected.

“All churches must be respected and also people, priests, bishops and the cardinal, and I think it is something fundamental, because we cannot fall into this kind of attitude,” he said during a visit to Nezahualcóyotl, where he reaffirmed that “violence in any circumstance must be condemned.”  Speaking to local reporters, Archbishop Pierre said “many Mexicans” reject these kinds of acts.  Likewise, he called for “tolerance and civil harmony,” since “we do not need this violence because we have to live together and respect each other.”

Act of vandalism

The president of the Bishops’ Conference of Mexico, Bishop Carlos Aguilar Retes, recalled that “acts of vandalism are never the correct way of expressing a difference of ideas or opinions.”

Speaking to Notimex, Bishop Retes pointed out that “the opinion of a bishop on a particular matter and freedom of expression is one thing; hatred against representatives of the Catholic Church is another.”

The acts of vandalism by PRD sympathizers against the clergy, the faithful and the Cathedral, have led the Archdiocese of Mexico City to close the Cathedral until authorities can guarantee security.  Such acts have not taken place since the time of the Cristeros persecution at the beginning of the 20th century.