On the eve of Holy Week, during Lent, the Bishop of the Diocese of Oaxaca, Pedro Vázquez Villalobos, called on leaders of evangelical and other congregations not to persuade their members to abandon the faith.
He said that if they want to avoid confrontation, they should respect the territories belonging to the Catholic Church, as Mormons, Pentecostals, and evangelicals are in the streets urging parishioners to leave the Catholic faith.
According to the Undersecretary of the Interior, Jesús Romero López, there are 27 registered conflicts in Oaxaca stemming from disputes between evangelicals and Catholics, 14 of which are active and in the process of being resolved through conciliation. These include conflicts in Cerro Cajón, San Juan Yaee, San Juan Yatzona, and San Andrés Solaga.
There is also another conflict related to the continued presence of a parish priest in a Catholic church, who has been unable to reach an agreement with the municipal authorities. In addition, there is a list of 40 displaced or exiled families, and at least three evangelical pastors have been imprisoned.
The bishop said that in the world “there is God for everyone,” and lamented that there are people seeking ideological hegemony by force.
“These are times for peace, prudence, and tolerance. If we were all respectful of the faith we profess, whatever that faith may be, these problems wouldn’t exist. Sometimes they say that we Catholics are against those who profess other religions, but they don’t leave us in peace.
“They keep insisting that we stop being Catholic, and they also harass us, door to door, house to house.”
He also pointed out that, even though they know they are Catholic, Evangelicals try to force them to abandon their faith.
“We don’t proselytize; we respect our faith, but they don’t, and they must learn to live their faith without harming others,” he declared.
Source: milenio
