Cardinal Felipe Arizmendi, Bishop Emeritus of San Cristóbal de Las Casas and head of the Doctrine of the Faith at the Mexican Episcopal Conference (CEM), offers Exaudi readers his weekly article.

FACTS

A few days ago, I celebrated the First Communion of several boys and girls. Before Mass, the parish priest told me that among them was the daughter of the local leader of the armed group dedicated to extortion. He no longer lives in the community, but his daughter participated in the parish catechism. Her father was not present at the celebration. So far, nothing worrisome. In the homily and the prayer of the faithful, I made a brief allusion to the fact that God disapproves of the abuse of weapons. At the end of the celebration, the parish priest realized that the girl’s godfather was the municipal leader of said armed group, and, more seriously, he was at Mass with his handgun on his belt. We don’t know if he confessed elsewhere beforehand and if he received Communion. Furthermore, after Mass, I was told that, during the celebration, two trucks with young men with long guns were at the doors of the parish atrium, perhaps to protect their leader…

Something similar happens in some religious celebrations. These criminals participate in them, but they continue to extort everyone, even murder and abduct those who do not submit to their orders. They are the new authority in our territories. There are dioceses where they abduct a priest and force him to go somewhere in the mountains to celebrate a baptism, a quinceañera, or a wedding, without following all the normal procedures for such cases. Some bishops have told priests that they cannot resist violently and that they should go and celebrate what is asked of them, but that they should make the celebration very long, thus making up for the pre-sacramental catechesis they have not received. There are times when priests ask those who carry weapons to leave them in the sacristy or another place in the parish during the celebration; afterward, they carry them again, as usual. Most of these groups are Catholic and wear a scapular or other religious image, but they do not live according to our faith. Very Catholic, but in their own way. That’s not true Catholicism!

Some institutions of our episcopate, with the help of the Pontifical University of Mexico, have given talks to priests so they know how to dialogue, not negotiate, with these criminal groups. I have spoken with two leaders in my region, and I intend to do so with another, not to negotiate personal interests, but to invite them to change their lives and to respect people and our communities. We cannot remain only in complaints and criticism of the authorities, who are not doing enough to stop the crime of extortion.

This doesn’t happen only with armed groups. At any celebration, for example, Baptism or Confirmation, where parents and godparents commit to renouncing the works of the devil and remaining firm in the Catholic faith, after the rite, they throw huge parties and engage in drunkenness that custom considers normal, even though it is contrary to the faith. Or they continue living their ordinary lives as if they weren’t believers.

LIGHTNING

Pope Leo XIV, on various occasions, has told us: “The Church and the world do not need people who fulfill their religious duties, displaying their faith as an outward label; they need, instead, workers eager to work in the mission field, enamored disciples who bear witness to the Kingdom of God wherever they find themselves. Perhaps there is no shortage of ‘occasional Christians’, who from time to time give space to some good religious sentiment or participate in some event; but few are those who are willing to work every day in God’s field, cultivating in their hearts the seed of the Gospel and then bringing it into daily life, into the family, into places of work and study, into various social environments and to those who are in need. To do this, one does not need too many theoretical ideas about pastoral concepts; above all, one needs to pray to the Lord of the harvest. In the first place, then, is the relationship with the Lord, cultivating dialogue with Him. Then He will make us His workers and send us out into the field of the world as witnesses of His Kingdom” (6-VII-2025).

The parable of the Good Samaritan “continues to challenge us even today, challenges our lives, shakes the tranquility of our dormant or distracted consciences, and challenges us against the risk of a complacent faith, ordered by the external observance of the law, but incapable of feeling and acting with the same compassionate heart as God. Compassion, in fact, is at the heart of the parable.

The parable also challenges each of us, because Christ is the manifestation of a compassionate God. Believing in Him and following Him as His disciples means allowing ourselves to be transformed so that we too may share His sentiments: a heart that is moved, a gaze that sees and does not pass by, two hands that help and soothe wounds, strong shoulders that care for those in need.

Obeying the Lord’s commandments and converting to Him does not mean multiplying external acts, but, on the contrary, it is a matter of returning to one’s own heart to discover that it is precisely there that God has written His law of love. If in the depths of our lives we discover that Christ, like the Good Samaritan, loves us and cares for us, we too are moved to love in the same way and will be compassionate like Him. Healed and loved by Christ, we too become signs of His love and compassion in the world. This makes us neighbors to one another, generates authentic brotherhood, and tears down walls and fences. And finally, love opens the way, becoming stronger than evil and death”. (13 July 2025)

ACTIONS

Let us strive to be consistent with our Catholic faith. If we claim to believe in God and are willing to live according to His commandments, let us love Him with all our hearts and one another, always seeking the good of others, without harming them.