Mexicans back gun-toting priest

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BBC News

Churchgoers in a central Mexican town have been enraged by the sacking of their Roman Catholic priest, known for tucking a shiny pistol under his robe.

They chained shut the Chucandiro church to demand the reinstatement of Father Alfredo Gallegos, who has earned the nickname "Padre Pistolas".

No reason has been given for sacking the priest, also noted for his love of cowboy boots and country music.

Mexico has strict laws banning private citizens from carrying guns.
Father Alfredo says he only carries a gun for protection - given that several of his friends have been killed over the years, Reuters news agency reports.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/3988263.stm

[Xipe Totec]

1. Humm... Reminds me of another priest that packed heat

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla had the unique distinction of being a father in three senses of the word: a priestly father in the Roman Catholic Church, a biological father who produced illegitimate children in defiance of his clerical vows, and the father of his country. Though Guadalupe Victoria was, like Washington, his country's first president, Hidalgo was, like Washington, the man who launched a colonial independence struggle against a European mother country that had become excessively oppressive.

Hidalgo was born on the Corralejo hacienda near Pénjamo, Guanajuato, on May 8, 1753. His father, don Cristóbal, was of middle-class creole background and served as the hacienda's administrator. Sent to the Colegio San Nicolás in Valladolid, Hidalgo received his bachelor's degree in theology in 1773 and was ordained in 1778.

But he never took his priestly vows too seriously. He fathered two daughters out of wedlock, read the anti-clerical works of the French Encyclopedic philosophers and seemed to regard the Church as a sort of sinecure which would provide him with a regular income. Among classmates he was known el zorro, "the fox."





(edited to add link)

http://www.mexconnect.com/mex_/history/jtuck/jthidalgo.html

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2. Related to the Borgias? Lucretia Borgia's dad was the Pope.

At least 30 previous Popes all fathered children. Not all out of wedlock, some were actually married..........