Lenny
08-26-2007, 09:16 PM
'Traditionalist Catholics' demolish another Evangelical church in Mexico
Self-styled "traditionalist Catholics" in Mexico have threatened more action following the destruction on Sunday (July 22) of an evangelical church in a community of San Juan Chamula, near San Cristobal de las Casas, in Mexico's Chiapas state.
MEXICO: MORE THREATS TO PROTESTANTS
This past month, small town political bosses were to meet on with representatives of 65 Christians they had threatened to expel in a show down that could influence religious rights throughout the region.
The rulers of Los Pozos near San Cristobal De Las Casas, in Chiapas state, Mexico, decided to drive 13 Christian families from their homes last December for refusing to help pay for alcohol-drenched “traditionalist Catholic” festivals. State and federal officials intervened, and on February 28 the town bosses verbally agreed to a pact pledging they wouldn’t expel the evangelicals, whose water lines and electricity they have cut since January. But Christian leaders told Compass that the ruler have signalled that either they will not sign the ‘accord’ or will exact fines before signing, or will sign it with plans to
renege on it.
Leaders of both the evangelicals and the traditionalist Catholics--who practice a blend of Roman Catholicism and Tzotzil Maya customs--view the showdown as their Waterloo.
Protestants still without Water
More than five weeks after town bosses in Chiapas state, Mexico, signed an agreement to restore water lines cut off from Christians since January, the Protestants still rely on dirty, distant wells and puddles for washing and drinking. The April 23 agreement calls for the autocratic rulers or caciques of Los Pozos, near San Cristobal de las Casas, to withdraw a threat to expel 65 Christians, cease forcing them to pay for “traditionalist Catholic” festivals and restore electricity and water services of several Protestant families.
Evangelical pastor and attorney Esdras Alonso Gonzalez told Compass that water lines cut since January 30 had not been restored. “Everyone in the municipality is respecting the agreement, except in the matter of water – it’s horrible,” Alonso said. “We don't know when they're going to restore the water; the brethren have not been able to get good information.”
Anti-Protestant Line From Above
"Pope" Benedict has reached out to dissidents, other faiths-and-countries long hostile to the Roman Catholic Church, but commentators say he has now started drawing the line. With his 80th birthday and the second anniversary of his election approaching, he has rebuffed calls to let divorced Catholics who remarry participate fully in the Church. He has told Catholic politicians who must decide on such issues as abortion and euthanasia that Catholic values are ‘not negotiable’. And he has closed the door on any relaxation of the celibacy requirement for priests.
Self-styled "traditionalist Catholics" in Mexico have threatened more action following the destruction on Sunday (July 22) of an evangelical church in a community of San Juan Chamula, near San Cristobal de las Casas, in Mexico's Chiapas state.
MEXICO: MORE THREATS TO PROTESTANTS
This past month, small town political bosses were to meet on with representatives of 65 Christians they had threatened to expel in a show down that could influence religious rights throughout the region.
The rulers of Los Pozos near San Cristobal De Las Casas, in Chiapas state, Mexico, decided to drive 13 Christian families from their homes last December for refusing to help pay for alcohol-drenched “traditionalist Catholic” festivals. State and federal officials intervened, and on February 28 the town bosses verbally agreed to a pact pledging they wouldn’t expel the evangelicals, whose water lines and electricity they have cut since January. But Christian leaders told Compass that the ruler have signalled that either they will not sign the ‘accord’ or will exact fines before signing, or will sign it with plans to
renege on it.
Leaders of both the evangelicals and the traditionalist Catholics--who practice a blend of Roman Catholicism and Tzotzil Maya customs--view the showdown as their Waterloo.
Protestants still without Water
More than five weeks after town bosses in Chiapas state, Mexico, signed an agreement to restore water lines cut off from Christians since January, the Protestants still rely on dirty, distant wells and puddles for washing and drinking. The April 23 agreement calls for the autocratic rulers or caciques of Los Pozos, near San Cristobal de las Casas, to withdraw a threat to expel 65 Christians, cease forcing them to pay for “traditionalist Catholic” festivals and restore electricity and water services of several Protestant families.
Evangelical pastor and attorney Esdras Alonso Gonzalez told Compass that water lines cut since January 30 had not been restored. “Everyone in the municipality is respecting the agreement, except in the matter of water – it’s horrible,” Alonso said. “We don't know when they're going to restore the water; the brethren have not been able to get good information.”
Anti-Protestant Line From Above
"Pope" Benedict has reached out to dissidents, other faiths-and-countries long hostile to the Roman Catholic Church, but commentators say he has now started drawing the line. With his 80th birthday and the second anniversary of his election approaching, he has rebuffed calls to let divorced Catholics who remarry participate fully in the Church. He has told Catholic politicians who must decide on such issues as abortion and euthanasia that Catholic values are ‘not negotiable’. And he has closed the door on any relaxation of the celibacy requirement for priests.