Bernardo Barranco V.
h
so good Entering the 19th century, the state religion was Catholic. Following the outcome of the Reform War, Juárez promulgated the so-called Reform Laws, a set of decrees issued between 1859 and 1863 that aimed to complete the process of separation of Church and State. These events configure the profile of the modern Mexican State based on a secularism that has been evolving.
A lot of water has flowed under the bridge of Mexico’s history. Important sectors of the clergy have conspired against the State. Only in this way do we understand the emergence of important dissident factions, such as Sinarquismo, Yunque, the Tecos, the Wall and a large far-right Catholic fauna. The current government will have to be careful, especially in the face of outbreaks of the radical right, be it Verástegui, supported by Trump, or other formations. The equation is clear: in Mexico the extreme right has had its main bastion in ultra-conservative Catholics.
As rarely in the modern history of Mexico, today there is real opposition from significant sectors of the Catholic Church against the 4T government. The bishop of Apatzingán, Cristóbal Ascencio García, assured in the cathedral of the diocese that, after the triumph of Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, it is imminent arrival of communism
to Mexico. From the pulpit, clerics and bishops improperly exercise proselytism. The President of Mexico, before the Church, is facing a minefield of interests and revenge.
From the beginning of López Obrador’s government, the bishops viewed his openness to evangelical sectors with distrust. Especially when he promised them open television and enabled the support of the Church to distribute the Moral primerby Alfonso Reyes. Even the bishops questioned the initiative, appealing to apply the secularism of the State.
However, the trigger was the murder of the Jesuits in the Tarahumara mountains in 2022. The bishops openly became an ecclesiastical opposition. They supported the opposition marches, published letters against the government, supporting Córdova’s INE and the Supreme Court. They criticized the immigration policy and security strategy. They reproached AMLO for resorting to the past to justify his mistakes. They criticized him for polarizing the country with his accusations. In summary, the Mexican bishops formed the opposition religious bloc that contested the 2024 elections.
In the middle of the electoral process, the bishops of Guanajuato, violating the regulations, whether in homilies or training workshops, openly called not to vote for Morena. Today several priests are before the courts, accused of intervening in the elections. Last September, in one more of the episcopate’s statements, they warned that The reform proposal promoted by the Executive does not respond to a comprehensive review of the judicial system, nor does it guarantee a better and more qualified administration of justice; Furthermore, it affects the autonomy of the Judiciary and calls into question the division of powers.
. Since then, some bishops have not stopped supporting the opposition against the judicial reform, contravening what the Constitution mandates in article 130, which prohibits the Church from criticizing or questioning the public policies of the State. The laxity of the authorities is striking. Sheinbaum, of Jewish descent, has declared herself non-religious and, as a secularist, respects all beliefs and their churches. Faced with the belligerence of the Catholic hierarchy, the President has reached out to the episcopate to have a more tempered relationship, based on greater communication and exchange of positions. The president of the CEM, Ramón Castro, perceived in the President a greater conciliatory will. The leadership that directs the CEM knows that the social monopoly that the Catholic Church had was broken. With the emergence of citizens without religion and the increase in evangelicals, a more plural and secular society is now configured.
However, in the current circumstances, a protest inertia is imposed by members of the Catholic Church who reject any pact, truce or rapprochement with the 4T. They prefer to continue with a combative and even provocative attitude. In The Day (11/25/24) reported that on Sunday, sheltered by peace ceremonies, bishops took the opportunity to criticize the 4T and its judicial reform. The masses that Sunday increased criticism against the judicial reform and, openly, bishops and priests, especially from Bajío, expressed their rejection, calling on the population to mobilize against the process.
In the Basilica of Guadalupe, the request was included for the members of the Judiciary and their families, so that they put God at the center of their concerns. In Morelia, Michoacán, the priest who began the religious act also asked for the members of the Judicial Branch of the Federation and for the consequences that come with the judicial reform that violates the rights and the judicial career, so that the spirit works in the peace of our nation.
Sheinbaun’s government faces a mess. It is not enough to agree with the CEM leadership. The diversity is so great that special attention should be paid geographically in the Bajío. You should be aware of conservative congregations, such as the Legionaries of Christ and Opus Dei. The Church harbors within its heart a historic radical conservatism on the prowl. I remind you: the extreme right in Mexico will be Catholic or it will not be.
