California Catholic Daily - Church muzzled in Mexico
Over the last few days, a proposal to reform the Federal Code of Electoral Institutions and Procedures was discussed in the Senate, and has been scheduled for a vote in the next two weeks. The proposed legislation maintains all the current restrictions on civil and political rights for ministers of religion, and keeps in place the prohibition against running for public office and on expressing their opinions in public about political candidates and their positions on the issues.
This proposed law, supported by two of the three main political parties – the PRI and the PRD, both with strong anti-Catholic tendencies — not only reaffirms the prohibition on church ownership of electronic media, but also forbids the use of any kind of media — even from the pulpit — to express a political opinion.
Mexico continues to show that it is not a free country. While the people of the country are devout, the remnants of their socialist past linger and continue to do damage. Can you imagine living with such repression? We need to continue to pray for our neighbors to the south (for those of us here in the US) and offer the Church in need there our support. Pray that the Mexican government will seek policies of freedom and justice not repression and corruption.
