VZCZCXRO2257
RR RUEHCD RUEHGD RUEHHO RUEHMC RUEHNG RUEHNL RUEHRD RUEHRS RUEHTM
DE RUEHME #1196/01 1191623
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291623Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MEXICO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6286
INFO RUEHXC/ALL US CONSULATES IN MEXICO COLLECTIVE
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0696
RUEHROV/AMEMBASSY VATICAN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MEXICO 001196 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KIRF MOPS PGOV PHUM PTER SOCI SNAR MX
SUBJECT: CHURCH DEBATE ON ROLE IN CONFRONTING SECURITY 
ISSUES DEMONSTRATES GROWING CONFIDENCE AMONG MEXICAN 
PRELATES 
 
MEXICO 00001196  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
 ¶1. (SBU) Summary.  Comments by Durango Archbishop Hector 
Gonzalez Martinez April 17 about the whereabouts of fugitive 
drug kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman prompted a lively 
debate last week at the Mexican Bishops' Council  about the 
role of the Catholic Church in Mexico,s ongoing drug war. 
While many questioned the appropriateness of the archbishop's 
claim, there was general agreement with the notion that 
Mexico,s Catholic Church has a role to play in applying its 
moral suasion to the broader issue of crime and violence 
here.  End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) The 87th Plenary Assembly of the Mexican Bishops' 
Council last week was infused unexpectedly by discussions of 
how to confront increasing drug violence in Mexico and the 
whereabouts of one of its largest kingpins.  Days earlier, 
Durango Archbishop Hector Gonzalez Martinez had speculated 
that Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman is currently living near the 
Durango town of Guanecevi, adding that "only the authorities 
don't seem to know it" (implying that at least some might be 
looking the other way). The comments touched off a heated 
reaction. Town officials in Guanecevi denied they were 
providing a haven for the drug lord and challenged 
authorities to prove he lived nearby.  A senior commissioner 
in the Public Security Secretariat said that the prelate 
should explain where he got his information and present 
evidence to the authorities.  A poll indicated that most 
Mexicans agreed. 
 
¶3.  (U) Meanwhile, two military intelligence officers were 
found dead April 21 in the Durango township of Tepehuanes, 
about 30 miles south of Guanacevi, with a note reading, 
"Neither officials nor priests will ever be able to catch El 
Chapo". The following day the army said it stepped up patrols 
in the remote mountainous drug hotspot. 
 
¶4. (U) Archbishop Gonzalez drew a reaction from his fellow 
prelates as well. Bishop Faustino Almendariz opened the 
annual Bishops Conference noting that priests should exercise 
"prudence when voicing opinions, especially if they can't 
back them up."  However, Gonzalez,s comments also prompted a 
broader, and often frank, dialogue. Conference President, 
Bishop Carlos Aguiar of Texcoco, acknowledged that many 
churches, particularly in Mexico,s poor regions, receive 
large donations from drug traffickers.  A chorus of Bishops 
(including Cardinal Norberto Rivera) sought to clarify his 
assertion or distance themselves from it in subsequent days. 
 A Conference spokesman said that priests in eight states 
have been threatened with harm or death, presumably by 
organized crime, often in retaliation for their anti-drug 
campaigns. 
 
¶5.  (U) While some, such as Campeche Bishop Ramon Castro, 
said the work of priests is not to investigate organized 
crime, others insisted that the Church should take a more 
active role in addressing the problem.  One keynote speaker, 
an Italian priest, who leads a group of civil associations 
against the Italian mafia, defended Archbishop Gonzalez and 
said church officials hold a responsibility to publicly 
challenge organized crime.  Saltillo Bishop Raul Vera called 
for the prosecution of corrupt governors and mayors, adding 
that drug cartels should be declared terrorist organizations 
and have their assets seized.  Cardinal Rivera said that 
Mexico needed to restore confidence in the country,s ability 
to confront challenges like narco-trafficking and the 
economic crisis. 
 
¶6. (U) Even Senior Mexican authorities and politicians 
weighed in. Addressing the assembled Bishops, Secretary of 
Interior Gomez Mont told the bishops that it was necessary to 
strengthen the country's institutions, including the Catholic 
Church, to fight organized crime in a more coordinated 
fashion. Leaders of the three main parties agreed that the 
state should guarantee the security of those who make 
declarations against organized crime, including churchmen. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment.  In recent years, Mexico,s Church and 
state have both liberally interpreted constitutional 
restrictions on the former,s ability to weigh in on social 
and political issues.  The Church spoke out in support of 
open electoral democracy in the mid-1980s and against the 
corrosive influence of corruption during the Fox years.  Most 
recently, it had endeared itself to the Calderon 
administration on the issue of law and order by lambasting 
U.S. corruption as significantly responsible for Mexico,s 
epidemic crime and violence and by suggesting the opposition 
PRI was deliberately stalling security reforms.   Still,last 
week,s internal debate, and the response it elicited from 
members of the government and body politic, suggest that 
 
MEXICO 00001196  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
Mexico,s Bishops are more willing and able than ever to lend 
their (not always unified) voices to the major issues of the 
day.  End Comment. 
 
Visit Mexico City's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/mexicocity and the North American 
Partnership Blog at http://www.intelink.gov/communities/state/nap / 
BASSETT