Calay News
On Monday afternoon, Catholic priest Javier Garcia Villafana was shot dead while driving a Nissan van on the Cuitzeo-Huandacareo highway, near Capacho, in the state of Michoacán, Mexico.
According to the state Attorney General’s Office, which has launched an investigation to clarify the murder, the priest’s body, found inside the vehicle, had multiple gunshot wounds. On the other hand, the Public Security Secretariat of Michoacán, quoted by the newspaper Publimetro, reported that the assailants left a message on a poster board without revealing its content.
Garca Villafaa had recently been appointed to take charge of the parish of Capacho, arriving there on April 23, according to the Centro Católico Multimedial, which also noted that his murder brings to nine the number of priests murdered in the last six years.
The Mexican Episcopal Conference (MEC) condemned the murder of the parish priest and called on the authorities to carry out an exhaustive and transparent investigation in order to identify and punish those responsible.
In a statement, the MEC affirmed that this and other similar acts cannot be allowed to go unpunished and stressed the importance of reestablishing the rule of law and guaranteeing the security of all citizens.
