Mexico's drug traffickers are financing churches, bishop says

[AlphaCentauri]

MEXICO CITY – A top Roman Catholic leader suggested that violent drug traffickers have been "generous" to their communities, drawing a swift rebuke Saturday from another high-ranking church official and ruling-party politicians.

Texcoco Bishop Carlos Aguiar Retes, president of the Mexican Bishops Conference, said drug lords had financed public works in rural areas that are little served by the government and also had built churches.

"They are very generous with the people in their communities, and in general they install electricity, telecommunications, highways, roads, paid for by them," Bishop Aguiar said after a meeting of bishops Friday, according to news reports. "They are very generous, and many times they also build a church or a chapel."

The bishop stressed that "I'm not justifying this; I'm simply saying what is evident." He added that even the smallest drug distributor does "immense" damage.

Drug lords should be forgiven if they repent, Bishop Aguiar said.

"There have been some who have approached us and asked for orientation about how to change their lives," he said, adding that they come "from all levels."

The bishop said narcos should have a legal way of starting a new life through a witness protection program similar to one in Colombia.

Mexico City Cardinal Norberto Rivera, the nation's highest-ranking churchman, said through a spokesman that the bishop's comments could be misconstrued as being soft on the traffickers.

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/mexico/stories/040608dnintmexico.3b60135.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Do you recall hearing that Pablo Escobar, in Colombia, gave hospitals and things like that to towns?

At some point these guys can become so wealthy they start trying to buy back their honor by doing philanthropic things for their countrymen. This is amazing.

Thanks for posting this. I had no idea they (narco-traffickers) were doing that well materially in Mexico, yet!

From the article:

"They are very generous with the people in their communities, and in general they install electricity, telecommunications, highways, roads, paid for by them"

These services are STILL needed by the poverty stricken, worker exploited and abused communities. If they can receive help from ANYWHERE, it's so much better than a kick in the head again, isn't it?