“When someone sacrificed his life for something, then it is worth asking why he did so.” That statement by Franciscan Father Tomás Ciaran O’Nuanain, an Irish missionary in El Salvador, goes to the heart of the mission of the newly-established Office of Lay Martyrs of the Church in El Salvador.
On July 6, 2017, Father Luis López Villa, the parish priest of San Isidro Labrador was found murdered in the city of Los Reyes La Paz in Mexico State. His body was found inside the rectory; his throat had been slit and his hands were tied. Father Lopez Villa was 73.
Speaking on behalf on the cathedral chapter, Father Ricardo Valenzuela, the senior sacristan and liturgical director of the cathedral, expressed his concern for the health of the priest and asked for the prayers of all the Catholic faithful.
Amidst mounting and increasingly violent clashes between protestors and supporters of the government, the Venezuelan bishops have called for peace.
Marco Mencaglia heads the Haiti desk for international Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need. He recently returned from a fact-finding mission to the impoverished country, where the Church provides both vital spiritual and humanitarian support to a suffering population.