Pope offers his support to cartel-afflicted Mexican diocese
A cameraman takes video of a bullet-riddled chapel near Aguililla, Mexico, April 23, 2021. Pope Francis has sent a letter of encouragement to the town's residents as they confront battling drug cartels. (CNS photo/Alan Ortega, Reuters)
By David Agren • Catholic News Service • Posted July 20, 2021
MEXICO CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis sent a letter of encouragement to residents of a Mexican diocese afflicted by battling drug cartels, a conflict that has cast attention on the lawlessness covering wide swaths of Mexico and the government’s inability to pacify the country.
In the letter sent to Bishop Cristóbal Ascensio García of Apatzingán and read at Mass July 18, the pope spoke of violence in the Tierra Caliente region of western Michoacán state. He also offered prayers for the population, along with the message: you are not alone.