Mexican church in major row over drug money
-23/09/05
A Mexican bishop who has admitted that the Catholic Church in Mexico receives money from drug traffickers has excited a political and religious storm in his homeland.
Monsignor Ramon Godinez, Bishop of Aguascalientes in Central Mexico, declared this week that donations from drug gangs occurred ìeverywhereî in the country, and that the Church was no exception, according to the daily Reforma newspaper.
Bishop Godinez says he would never knowingly take money from criminal sources. But he claims that the saturation of the economy with drug funds is so great that even the authorities find it difficult to trace, and have not asked him to do so.
He went on: ìYou don’t have to burn the money just because it may be bad. It’s better to transform it [into something good]… I’ve known of cases [where] itís been purified in this way,î he added.
The bishop also said that Jesus did not enquire about the origins of the money that bought the expensive perfume oil that Mary Magdelene used to anoint him, and he defended her from criticism by those who wanted to avoid their communityís larger responsibility for the poor.
His comments have caused controversy across Mexico, where over a thousand people have been killed in a growing conflict between rival drug gangs this year alone.
Mexican presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar condemned Bishop Godinezís remarks, telling journalists: ìNo one can allow organized crime to act with impunity.î
President Vicente Fox has sent hundreds of anti-drug soldiers and federal police to states which border the USA since the beginning of 2005. He fears that the bishopís remarks will be seen to legitimise a deadly trade.
Others in the Catholic hierarchy are reported to be horrified by Bishop Godinezís stance. In northern Mexico the Church has declared that the massive cross-border trade in cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines contravenes Christian teaching.
Just over two weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern at growing poverty in Mexico, the impact of drug trafficking on general society, and the poor conditions of migrant workers.
But many observers, especially those who question the efficacy of the US-led ëwar on drugsí, claim that it is huge economic maldevelopment which is at the root of the major corruption and narcotics problems.
Ramon Godinez has been a bishop for over 25 years. He was appointed to his diocesan role in Aguascalientes in 1998, having previously served as titular bishop in Centenaria and auxiliary bishop in Guadalajara.
Mexican church in major row over drug money
-23/09/05
A Mexican bishop who has admitted that the Catholic Church in Mexico receives money from drug traffickers has excited a political and religious storm in his homeland.
Monsignor Ramon Godinez, Bishop of Aguascalientes in Central Mexico, declared this week that donations from drug gangs occurred ‘everywhere’ in the country, and that the Church was no exception, according to the daily Reforma newspaper.
Bishop Godinez says he would never knowingly take money from criminal sources. But he claims that the saturation of the economy with drug funds is so great that even the authorities find it difficult to trace, and have not asked him to do so.
He went on: ‘You don’t have to burn the money just because it may be bad. It’s better to transform it [into something good]… I’ve known of cases [where] it’s been purified in this way,’ he added.
The bishop also said that Jesus did not enquire about the origins of the money that bought the expensive perfume oil that Mary Magdelene used to anoint him, and he defended her from criticism by those who wanted to avoid their community’s larger responsibility for the poor.
His comments have caused controversy across Mexico, where over a thousand people have been killed in a growing conflict between rival drug gangs this year alone.
Mexican presidential spokesman Ruben Aguilar condemned Bishop Godinez’s remarks, telling journalists: ‘No one can allow organized crime to act with impunity.’
President Vicente Fox has sent hundreds of anti-drug soldiers and federal police to states which border the USA since the beginning of 2005. He fears that the bishop’s remarks will be seen to legitimise a deadly trade.
Others in the Catholic hierarchy are reported to be horrified by Bishop Godinez’s stance. In northern Mexico the Church has declared that the massive cross-border trade in cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines contravenes Christian teaching.
Just over two weeks ago, Pope Benedict XVI expressed concern at growing poverty in Mexico, the impact of drug trafficking on general society, and the poor conditions of migrant workers.
But many observers, especially those who question the efficacy of the US-led ëwar on drugs’, claim that it is huge economic maldevelopment which is at the root of the major corruption and narcotics problems.
Ramon Godinez has been a bishop for over 25 years. He was appointed to his diocesan role in Aguascalientes in 1998, having previously served as titular bishop in Centenaria and auxiliary bishop in Guadalajara.