Ariel Presbitero

A few weeks ago I visited Rancho Anapra, the western part of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico - known to be the most dangerous city in the entire world because of the competing drug cartels.  As I entered the place I never stopped thinking of the many murders that are happening in various “colonias”.  Rancho Anapra is obviously no exception.  The arid land, dry and desert environment mesmerized me by its similarity to Lima, Peru.  In some way, I felt I was at home. Loud latino music welcomed and excited me as I listened to salsa, merengue and ranchero.  It is very obvious that the presence of the military still continues since President Felipe Calderon, the Mexican president declared war against the drug cartels, to protect its citizens and stop the violence that has been going on for the past 3 years.  In 2010, more than 3,000 had been killed.  At the beginning of this year 2011, it was projected that 5,000 would be killed according to an artificial intelligence model by a local researcher in Ciudad Juarez.  To date, there are 1,300 deaths already for the last 10 months and may increase because the year is not over yet.  It appears to be lower than what was projected at the beginning of the year, but the fact that the killings still continue definitely makes people uncertain of their future.

As I walked in the streets of Rancho Anapra with the two Columban Lay Missionaries, Monika Lewatikana and Sainiana Tamatawale, I’ve noticed a huge vacant lot being flattened and I was informed that they will build a new grocery store called S-mart, like the one they have near the city center where people go to buy bread, fruits, meat, rice, vegetables and a lot of things.  It will be closer to the people living in Rancho Anapra – much closer to the Columban missionaries as well.  The first thing that came to my mind was the small business stores in the area and the Sunday “segunda” where people set up a community market in the main street.  Obviously this will affect a lot of business especially the small ones when new S-mart starts its own business. Once again we’re into this game scenario of those who have and those who have not.  The little ones might stay but most probably will eventually disappear as the competition becomes very steep and clientele will divert to a much modern, bigger and Albertson’s type of grocery environment.  Trucks of goods and products will soon be coming in and out of this small community in the years to come and those people who will be working in this place will be coming over from different directions.  It will be interesting to see how this affects the new emerging dynamic of people living in the area with the people coming in just to work. Some people might move in as residents because of work. As things evolve in the next three years, they may be asking the local parish priest to bless more new homes when the big store opens.

I stopped by a small hamburger shop where Christina works as a vendor.  She only works on weekends bringing the two children with her: 7 year old Jesus and a few months old baby.  I met Christina about a year ago when I visited Rancho Anapra for the first time after a couple of years.  She was pregnant with the second child then.  She works to help augment the family income because of the newly born baby and the other son, helping her husband in some way.  Two days in the hamburger stand helps a little to cover their everyday expenses to buy milk, food, clothes and pay transportation. When Christina goes to work the two children go as well.  They go early morning and stay until late at night depending on the traffic of people who come and eat. The children had no choice but to stay as well.  Sometimes you can see the two children sleeping on the chair.  Jesus who is 7 years old also helps in delivering orders to surrounding neighbors.  Christina earns very little but she has no choice but to do it to sustain her family.

Rancho Anapra appears to be a quiet place, life goes on and people make themselves busy to whatever work may come their way.  My stay in the lay mission house was like an oasis for me.  The weekend was very quiet.  Thank God that I had no problem sleeping in spite of the threat and danger that is going in the greater city of Juarez.  I enjoyed cleaning some parts of the lay mission house garden with the company of a tamed dog, Estrella.

Listening to stories of people is undeniably a moment of grace.  They are very open and welcoming, most of all, very friendly.  Sometimes I couldn’t reconcile why violence and injustices happen to these peace-loving people making them very vulnerable.  When will this be over?  Nobody knows.  I feel drawn to visit them as often as I can and be a living witness to the many ordinary vulnerable people of Rancho Anapra, to support them amidst danger and threat of life because of the war on drugs.  They also share with me their faith no matter how uncertain it is for them to survive.  They teach me to be strong spiritually by focusing their life on – and in - God.  They pray unceasingly, praise God with much enthusiasm and live the true Christian spirit amidst the poverty, danger and vulnerability.  I always pray for these people as they do for me.  There is no harm if one goes to meet them just being there and witness how life goes on in this part of Ciudad Juarez.  It transforms me to understand their reality and it helps me connect with the local people.  The visit changed me in so many ways, and I believe that God works in this change.  It helps me to see a reality different from my own.  In this way I understand better why I have to go in the first place.  My friends called me “crazy” but when you are with God your faith is measured by your action.   I will never have a second thought of inviting people to cross the border and meet the people especially the community in Rancho Anapra.  They have something to teach us. They already appreciate that the God of life is right with them in their struggle against the agents of death.

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico (CNS) — Ministering in a city where crime is pervasive and murders occur at an alarming rate, Columban Father Kevin Mullins knows he’s been very fortunate.

While he has personally escaped the violence, the Australian-born priest has been touched by it through the lives of his parishioners at Corpus Christi Church in the poor neighborhood of Puerto de Anapra.

During Advent 2008, though, there was a time when parishioners and fellow priests were praying for his soul, thinking he had been killed during an attack by drug cartel gunmen.

“I have been quite lucky,” Father Mullins said in a thick Australian accent. “It was actually an Anglican minister who had a heart attack and was found in his car a few blocks away from my house.”

In Mexico, the sight of a priest slumped over in a car is not all that unusual. In 2005, Father Luis Velasquez Romero was found in his vehicle in Tijuana, handcuffed and shot six times. In 2009 a priest and two seminarians were gunned down in their car, dragged out then shot again because a relative of one of the seminarians was believed to be associated with one of the country’s notorious drug cartels.

Since Mexican President Felipe Calderon declared war against the cartels in 2006 more than 40,000 people have been killed, including 12 priests. A survey from the Catholic Media Center in Mexico found that in 2010 more than 1,000 priests were extorted, 162 threatened with death and two kidnapped and killed.

Prior to Calderon’s aggressive action, three priests had been killed in the preceding decade. The rise in clergy deaths represents part of the cartels’ response to the growing pressure exerted on them by both Mexico and the United States.

Msgr. Rene Blanco Vega, vicar general of the Ciudad Juarez Diocese, declined to discuss the number of priests and parishes in the diocese, saying he did not want to provide the cartels with information they could use to extort money.

“We don’t have that problem and we don’t want it,” said Msgr. Blanco, who adamantly denied the cartels have any influence on the church in his diocese.

Father Oscar Enriquez, director of the Paso del Norte Human Rights Center in Cuidad Juarez, said he has not observed any direct attempts by cartels to extort money specifically from churches, but that he has seen instances where priests have been attacked. Ironically, Father Enriquez’s office was ransacked by Mexican federal police after he accused some in their ranks of corruption.

“I see funeral homes, restaurants, and businesses as the prime targets of extortion here,” he said.

Father Mullins, who has ministered in Cuidad Juarez for 11 years, said he has heard of incidents where other priests have been approached to pay an extortion fee, but that the transition of the city’s population has made it difficult for criminals to benefit. Most of the city’s wealthy residents have fled the violence by moving to nearby El Paso, Texas. The exodus of wealth has left the once-vibrant Ciudad Juarez shopping and manufacturing districts ghost towns with a tenuous middle class and an overwhelming level of poverty.

“Being the poorest parish in Ciudad Juarez has had its advantages,” Father Mullins said, noting that the average collection from three Sunday Masses is $150. “We have not had any extortion attempts because we just don’t have any money to give.”

Father Enriquez said the economic pressures in Puerta de Anapra — in clear site of the U.S. border — affect all facets of life. His biggest struggles are keeping parishioners fed, housed and out of the gangs where easy money beckons despite the threat of death.

“We’re not pounding the pulpit denouncing any one group or person despite knowing who they are; we are making blanket pleas to our parishioners to stay away from the criminal elements,” Father Mullins said. “Prudence can keep your head on your shoulders.”

Father Mullins estimated that 50-60 gang-related executions have occurred in his parish in the last three years. Men ages 15-30 have been the primary targets. The Australian priest has presided at tense funeral Masses hoping there would be no retribution from rival gangs.

“We don’t go to the cemeteries anymore for services, it’s just too dangerous,” he said.

What perplexes many pastors are the offers of financial support from the cartels. For decades parishes received donations of money and buildings from cartel officials with an attitude of resigned ignorance, without having to face a moral dilemma.

Msgr. Blanco maintained, however, that “it has never happened here where a church in Juarez has taken money from the cartels.”

Earlier this year, eyebrows were raised but no voices of dissension were heard when a church in Hidalgo state revealed a plaque dedicated to Herberto Lazcano Lazcano, the leader of the notorious Los Zetas drug cartel implicated in several mass murders in northeastern Mexico, who contributed generously to the building. Lazcano reportedly was killed in a firefight in Matamoros in June, but neither Mexican nor American officials have confirmed his death.

“About three months ago, I had a woman associated with the Juarez cartel approach me offering an open checkbook to build our youth center,” Father Mullins said. “Of course, I kindly declined her offer.”

He turned down the offer despite wanting to build a youth center and basketball courts on a nearby debris-filled lot where two teens from a confirmation class at his parish were stoned to death a few years ago.

Father Mullins has had cartel members attend Mass and, much to his relief, all declined to receive Communion, so he did not have to turn them away. If someone involved in a criminal enterprise did seek to receive Communion, Father Mullins said, he would take a deep breath and give the person a blessing instead.

Copyright (c) 2011 Catholic News Service/U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

Priests and lay missionaries of the Missionary Society of St. Columban and their supporters announced the Word of God and made their prayers in their native tongues—Chinese, Fijian, Tagalog, Spanish—a sign of the cultural diversity of the universal Church.  Bishop Armando X. Ochoa of El Paso presided at the celebration and blessed the Columban Mission Center with holy water.  He highlighted in his sermon the rich contribution the Columban Fathers make to the life of the local Church by their Border Ministries and, specifically, by establishing this facility.

“Everyone is called to the banquet,” the Bishop reminded the assembly, recalling Jesus’ parable about those invited to the wedding feast, from the day’s Gospel.  “No one is excluded.  Jesus invites us all to the feast, and it is the mission of the Church to announce this message.  It is the mission that the Columban Fathers live out by establishing this remarkable Mission Center.”

Volunteers from the nearby Annunciation House, which provides food and shelter to refugees and migrants, and other young adults helped out with many aspects of the event—leading the music (both the liturgical choir and the classical music choir that entertained the gathering afterwards), reading aloud the Mass readings and prayers of the faithful, distributing communion, serving the food and generally cleaning up after people began to go home.  The Sisters of Charity, who have worked alongside the Columbans in Juárez, Mexico, for years, helped out generously before, during and after the Mass and meal.  They gave vibrant witness to their charism by their cheerful service, warm welcomes and their sharing with all the guests.  Many hands, indeed, made for light work.

Many of the participants commented on the friendliness of the gathering.  Although the Mass had been carefully planned over a number of weeks, it lacked stiffness or excessive formality, reflecting something of the familiar Columban characteristics of hospitality and a down-to-earth experience of community.  Fr. Bill Morton, who first arrived in El Paso, Texas, on Mission Sunday, October 20, 1996, set a nice tone as the Mass was about to begin, welcoming everyone and explaining with some lighthearted remarks the basic elements of the special liturgy, encouraging people to pray the Our Father, when the time came, in their own native language—further enhancing the Spirit-filled ambience of mission to a global people.

The Columban Fathers and lay missionaries will host exposure trips at this new facility, providing experiences for groups from other regions of the United States who desire to see what life near the U.S./Mexico is like, especially for migrants and refugees.  The Mission Center will provide housing and meeting spaces for such groups, which can number from a dozen to two dozen people each.

University students and parish organizations will have the opportunity to listen to the stories of many people who flee the poverty and violence in their own countries, and also see and hear how Church and human rights organizations respond to their plight, serve them, house them and accompany them through the legal processes and detention centers, court systems and working conditions.  The exposure trips also permit encounters and dialogues with judges, border patrol agents and lawyers involved.  Reflection and prayer over the experiences will take place within the walls of the Mission Center, with its chapel, dining area and spacious assembly hall.

“We envision many different kinds of activities for this Mission Center in the near future,” Fr. Bob Mosher, the new director of the facility, declared.  “We hope to organize retreats and workshops here, for both the local communities on both sides of the U.S./Mexico border, as well as for visitors.  People who know of our work throughout the world and support us with their prayers and donations will also have opportunities to get to know us personally and join us for special events in the coming year in these surroundings.  We want to show our appreciation to them with these occasions, as well as to offer them a chance to learn new things about the Church’s mission and the Columban way of living out that mission in particular.”

The local Columban Border Ministries team of nine people, lay missionaries and priests, from six nations was complemented by the presence of the U.S. Regional Director, Fr. Arturo Aguilar, who had traveled from Nebraska for the event, and the coordinator of the Columban Center for Advocacy and Outreach in Washington, D.C., Ms. Amy W. Echeverría.  Together with Bishop Ochoa and Mons. Arturo Bañuelos, pastor of the parish of St. Pius X, the Columbans visibly confirmed that they serve the local community closely and strongly identify with it.

The local Church was well represented at the evening’s sacred rites and festivities.  The assembly revealed a cross-section of the local community—local parishes, human rights organizations, religious communities—and at one point everyone extended their hands over the heads of five local Catholics, chosen from the parish community of St. Pius X, who will soon leave for China on a Columban mission exposure trip.

The Columban Fathers organized an 18-day trip that will expose these five representatives of the local Church to the life and culture of China.  “You will be observed closely,” warned one of the Chinese Catholic supporters present.  He noted, during remarks after the Mass, that the Chinese government monitors the activities of religious groups within the country, especially ones with ties to the outside.

“We ask you to bless this Mission Center,” Bishop Ochoa prayed, “dedicated to the memory of St. Columban, and make fruitful the endeavors to proclaim the Good News of your Reign that will take place here, in faithfulness to the Mission entrusted to your Church by Your Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns forever and ever.”

Good Evening and thank you for joining us in this special moment in Columban mission at the border.

In 1918, the Missionary Society of St. Columban was founded to go to China by Bishop Galvin.  He said of this mission, “We are not here to convert the Chinese but to do God’s will”.  93 years later and in that same spirit of service to the most vulnerable, our mission has expanded to 15 countries.  This mission includes 15 years of missionary service to the border communities of El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico which is only possible through the way you have invited and welcomed us into your homes and hearts.  We are grateful to you, Bishop Ochoa, the people of the diocese of El Paso, our donors and benefactors, and all our companions on this missionary journey.  Together with you, we continue to do God’s will, responding to the needs of our day as laborers in the field, building the Kingdom of God in our shared call to work lovingly and joyfully for justice, peace, and harmony with Creation.

We are an international, cross cultural mission Society that builds bridges.  This celebration is a sign of that globality and our mission team here reflects the universality of the Church.  Fiji, Mexico, Australia, the Philippines, Korea, Ireland and the United States are all represented.  We received a special message on the occasion of this blessing from Fr. Trevor Trotter, Vicar General on behalf of Fr. Tommy Murphy, Columban Superior General and the entire General Council.

Fr. Trevor says, “Congratulations to the Columban Region of the United States on the opening of the new Mission Center in El Paso.  For many years now Columban  missionaries have been working in this important area of the Borderlands giving witness to the love and compassion of Jesus for the people.

We, on the General Council here in Hong Kong, are delighted that this new venture is being blessed today with a Holy Eucharist lead by Bishop Ochoa.  With the help of God’s grace the Center will be an effective means of  inviting people into the Mission of Jesus by being at the service of the poor and those struggling for a better life.

As you celebrate today, we are with you in spirit and pray that your efforts for mission are well rewarded and your dreams fulfilled.”

Today we celebrate and renew our missionary commitment here at the U.S.-Mexico border, a unique and holy ground where our loving God unites us despite our human poverty that separates us.  We ask for the strength and courage to be witnesses of His love, breaking the structures that keep up divided.  God invites all of us to the Banquet of Life just as you all have invited us into your lives and community.  With this Columban Mission Center we want to facilitate your missionary experience and invite you to realize your baptismal calling to be the new evangelizers of the world not only here in El Paso but to all nations.

God is great.  We give thanks for this shared journey.  May God bless keep us and bless us today and always.

Amen.

Fr. Arturo Aguilar, SSC

Director, U.S. Region

The Columban Mission Center in El Paso began an 8-week Just Matters course entitled “Faith Encounters the Ecological Crisis”. The course is being facilitated by Columban Father, Bill Morton and is offered through the Young Adult Ministry of the Diocese of El Paso.  It is designed around the book “Living Beyond the ‘End of the World,’ A Spirituality of Hope” by Margaret Swedish.

There are ten participants in the course including Tracy Horan who participated in the Columban Burren projet in Ireland this summer.

The course is deeply rooted in prayer, honest and respectful dialogue and the best information available about how we can begin the process of changing our lifestyles and working to help heal some of the damage we’ve done to the beautiful planet God created.  We will be looking at science, politics, the economy, lifestyle and culture and especially as Catholics at how our own life of faith and openness to conversion can impact the crisis.

If you’re interested in learning more about Just Faith/Just Matters you can check out the following link:

http://www.justfaith.org/programs/justmatters.html

Border Blog:  22 September 2011

Fr. Al Utzig and I went to the local premier of a documentary in downtown El Paso, Texas, that relates the history of the wave of violence that is sweeping over Juárez, México since 2006.  The film’s title, “Eight Murders a Day,” refers to the rate of assassinations that took place, on average, during 2010.

The filmmaker, Charlie Minn, answered questions along with five other panel members, invited from the local university and human rights groups, on the stage of the Plaza Theater, about the film and about the analyses of those interviewed, some of which differed from each other when explaining the multiple causes of the violence.  “The devil really is in the details,” one professor warned, encouraging the full house of spectators not to make generalizations about, for instance, the military forces of Mexico, which have occupied the city.

Little did Fr. Al and I know that, a few days later, we would meet the son of one of the victims featured in the film, and have the opportunity to support his efforts to have both his sister’s and his mother’s murders investigated, with the perpetrators identified and brought to justice.

Mrs. Marisela Escobedo planned to spend a long time in front of the local governor’s offices, camped out day and night, demanding that the sentence for the murderer of her daughter, Rubí, be carried out.  Rubí was 16 years old when she was murdered in 2008, and her mother had organized many marches and protests in Juárez to demand justice.  The main suspect in her killing had moved to another part of the country and joined the drug gang Zetas before he could be arrested to begin his sentence.  The mother’s arrival at the state capital of Chihuahua on December 8^th, 2010, drew a great deal of media attention—despite the threats that journalists in Mexico often receive for covering such events, uncomfortable for the powerful.

On the evening of December 16^th, 2010, a group of men arrived at the main square in Chihuahua, and approached Marisela, chasing her down when she tried to take refuge in a nearby building.  The videotape of the incident, caught by security cameras of the governor’s palace, shows a man catching up to her and shooting her in the head.  The images are one of the most dramatic in the documentary that Fr. Al and I saw.  The remaining members of the family received asylum in the United States  soon afterwards, since it was evident that even on the steps of the Chihuahua state capitol they were not safe.

Now her son has taken up the cause, to investigate his mother’s death as well as to insist on completion of sentencing for his sister’s killer.  He carried his sign, which had a picture of his sister on one side, and of his mother on the other, in front of the Mexican consulate in El Paso.  Fr. Al, Fr. Dennis O’Mara, and I, together with Columban lay missioners Ariel Presbitero and Sainiana Tamatawale, joined about a dozen other local religious and social justice group members as Juan Manuel held a press conference in front of the building.  He would spend every day, during the hours when the consulate was open, quietly walking up and down in front of the consulate with his sign.  He also delivered a letter to the consul, which was formally received.  Many of us decided to organize a schedule to accompany him during the week, since it might still be dangerous for him.

“No one has been detained so far” in the case of his mother’s murder, Juan Manuel told the group, “and there are no lines of investigation, which shows the complete indifference and silence of authorities in Chihuahua.  In Rubi’s case, the case has been solved and the killer has been sentenced to 50 years in prison, but no one wants to capture him.”

Fr. Bill Morton joined Juan Manuel at his daily protest a few days later.  Mission work means accompanying those called blessed, who hunger and thirst for justice, as Jesus tells us (Mt 5:6).  We here at the borderlands community of El Paso and Juárez feel the privilege of knowing people like Juan Manuel, and the inspiration of his example of persistence and courage.  Such people remind us of how near God is even to those in dire situations, challenging us to stand by them and waiting for our response.

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The New Mission place is really different from my previous mission place. The place, climate, situation, language & culture also the reality of life. Being journey along with the people last 3 months was really listening & learning to me. It was a journey of building relationship, getting to know the people, place, language & culture, parish activities also the ordained and learning two cultures in this region, US & Mexican culture.

In new to the language, culture & weather (hot & dry), dusty when windy I felt here sometimes frustrating but this doesn’t stop me from immersing myself to the people, to love being here as Lay Missionary & be happy when I reflected on the Mystery of God’s Presence. My presence in journey along with them in sharing life, hope & love has helped me to be part of them, the people, language & culture & a parishioner. Working together pastorally & spiritually (joining them with praise & worship & mass for peace praying for peace) in this place which is known in the world very dangerous & violence.)

When crossing the border sometimes I have no patience standing on the long line to cross over to El Paso but it’s the reality because two countries. First months I felt come & going to two countries crossing the border, when I got to use to it crossing once or twice a week I felt it’s just one place and normal only the fence separate o divide them in to two.

My reflection from the scripture, Jeremiah’s Prayer (Jeremiah 10: 23-25)

“ I know, O Lord that the way of human beings is not in their control that mortals as they walk cannot direct their steps”.