Mexican bishop assaulted and robbed on highway

ACI Prensa Staff, Jul 27, 2024 / 09:00 am

The Diocese of Tehuacán, located in the Mexican state of Puebla, reported that Bishop Gonzalo Alonso Calzada Guerrero was driving on a highway when he was “assaulted and his vehicle and personal belongings were stolen.” 

In a July 24 statement, the Diocese of Tehuacán reported that the incident occurred on the morning of July 23 while the prelate was heading to a community in the state to celebrate its patron saint’s feast day.

The news outlet N+ reported that after the robbery, the armed men tied the bishop’s hands and feet and abandoned him on a hill. According to the report, Calzada managed to free himself and ask for help; however, the diocese has not commented on this detail.

In the statement, the diocese said that the prelate “was unharmed and has filed the related complaint” with the authorities. In addition, the diocese expressed its gratitude to “God and our Blessed Mother, who always accompanies him, for caring for him and protecting him.”

At the same time, the diocese asked the religious community to continue “praying for peace in our country,” especially “for all the brothers who face these situations every day, for the families who are harmed and despoiled, that they find relief and strength.”

The Diocese of Tehuacán also asked for prayers for the assailants, “for these brothers who hurt families so much, that God may move their hearts to conversion.”

According to data from the executive secretariat of the National Public Safety System, from January to June 2024, 3,679 “four-wheeled cars” were stolen in the state of Puebla, of which 1,652 involved violence.

On April 3, Eduardo Cervantes Merino, the bishop of Orizaba in the state of Veracruz — a diocese adjacent to Tehuacán — reported that he and the priests who accompanied him were also assaulted on a highway.

Concerned for youth

Two days after being robbed “at gunpoint,” Calzada shared his experience at a Mass celebrated at St. James the Apostle Parish in Caltepec, where he lamented that the people who robbed him of his belongings were “young people between 20 and 22 years old.”

“It made me think about what we are doing as a Church, as a family, as a society to form young people, because they are doing this because they’re not finding meaning in their lives, they’re not finding something that’s really worth living for and they put their lives at risk,” the prelate said.

Calzada urged society not to accept juvenile delinquency as something normal and urged those present to pay greater attention to the evangelization of young people. He also encouraged parents to “care for their children, be close to them and talk to them: That’s the way they can help them find the path.”

“Before God, [parents] will have to give an account of what they have done for their children,” the bishop emphasized.

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