Mexico's violence, corruption, is not Our Lady's plan, Pope says on eve of visit

February 03, 2016

“I come to Mexico as a pilgrim, to look for something among the Mexican people,” Pope Francis said in an interview with a Mexican news service as he prepares for his visit to the country next week.

In his interview with the Notimex service, the Pope was candid in his assessment of Mexico’s social and economic problems, but reminded his listeners that the people of Mexico are “children of Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

In a blunt description of Mexico’s problems, the Pontiff took note of how the country’s social problems reflect the threats to world peace: “Violence, corruption, war children who cannot go to school because their country is at war, trafficking, arms manufacturers who sell weapons so that the wars of the world can continue … this is more or less the climate that we live in the world, and you are experiencing a part of it.”

This troubled image of the country, the Pope said, does not truly reflect the soul of Mexico, as envisioned by Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Pope continued. He argued that “the Mexico of violence, the Mexico of corruption, the Mexico of drug trafficking, the Mexico of the cartels, is not the Mexico that our Mother loves.”

Offering a preview of the message that he will bring to Mexico, Pope Francis said that the faithful should show the courage to bring the message of the Gospel to their neighbors and beyond: to go out to the sectors of society most in need of help. He told them that Our Lady of Guadalupe is sending the same challenge: “Do not be afraid of going forth, do not be afraid, my child, I am here and I am your mother.”

 

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Further information:

• Pope Francis speaks with children ahead of Mexico trip (Vatican Radio)
• Interview with the Pope: seeking the richness of faith in Mexico (VIS)