Pope Francis in Mexico: walking through the peripheries

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis is set to travel to Mexico from the 12th to the 17th of February on a six day apostolic journey which takes him to some of the hotspots of this overwhelmingly Catholic nation. He goes in the footsteps of Saint John Paul II and Benedict XVI, now Pope emeritus.

While he’ll be based in the nation’s capital Mexico City, site of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, he’ll also be spending a day in Chiapas home to a majority indigenous population, in Michoacán one of the most crime ridden parts of the country, and Ciudad Juarez on the border with Texas until very recently dubbed ' the murder capital of the world'.

Ahead of the Pope’s journey Veronica Scarisbrick sat down with Mexican born Dominican Father Alejandro Crosthwaite, Dean of Catholic social teaching at the University of Saint Thomas here in Rome, in an effort to shed light on some of the issues connected to this visit. 

Listen to Mexican born Dominican Father Alejandro Crosthwaite in an interview with Veronica Scarisbrick:

Veronica Scarisbrick asked Father Crosthwaite what he believed were some of the issues connected to the places the pope will visit during this journey, pinpointing economic justice, immigration and the rights of indigenous people.

Father Crosthwaite replies how the places Pope Francis has chosen to visit during this six day trip certainly give us a clue as to the issues he might address: “…For example I know that in Mexico City he will have to deal with the role of the hierarchy with regard to social justice, to drug related violence in the nation and sexual abuse issues. But I think also that when he goes to a neighborhood of Mexico City, Ecatapec, he’ll be touching on the issue of economic justice." 

Queried then by Veronica Scarisbrick as to whether Pope Francis has revived ‘liberation theology’ Father Crosthwaite explains: “ I think he has taken tenets from ‘liberation theology’. Pope Francis definitely has more of an Argentinian take on it, what some people call the theology of the people and so not only do you feel solidarity and compassion for the poor but you also live with them, you identify and you walk with them. And I think that is the example Pope Francis gave himself when he was Archbishop of Buenos Aires. That’s to say being with the poor, not just fighting for them from a distance but actually living their experience and appreciating their spirituality. And I think that’s one of the challenges that he’s going to make especially to the Mexican  hierarchy, that they need to be closer to the people".

Speaking of the scheduled meeting of Francis in Mexico City with the world of culture Father Crosthwaite says he believes the Pope is is aware of the influence Mexico has at a cultural level not just within the nation but also across Latin America. An influence which stems from the impact of its movies and television, in a special way of the ‘telenovelas’. 

Moving on in the interview Veronica Scarisbrick highlights ‘liberation theology’ connecting it to the visit of Pope Francis to Chiapas, an area famous for the ministry to the indigenous people of Bishop Samuel Ruiz: “Of course the most famous Bishop there was Samuel Ruiz who basically practiced  'liberation theology' especially in Chiapas where there’s a high percentage of native Americans most of whom are of Mayan heritage. There Samuel Ruiz made a conscious decision to walk with the indigenous people to protect their rights, their culture, their traditions within the Catholic faith.’

Highlighting further the Chiapas region, which lies to the South of Mexico on the border with Guatemala, Father Crosthwaite points to the poverty in this neglected area of Mexico which also has the highest concentration of non- Catholics. Many, he says, have turned their backs on the Catholic Church and joined Protestant groups, especially the  Evangelical and the Pentecostal. 

Another city Pope Francis will visit is Morelia in Michoacàn, an area of Mexico, notorious for drug related violence. A  beautiful city,says Father Crosthwaite: ".. but so violent that the government decided to  send in the military to restore order. However what’s happening there now is that there’s a sort of civil war going on and the poorest of the poor are the ones to suffer most as they get caught in the cross-fire".

Speaking of the final day of Pope Francis in Mexico when he goes to Ciudad Juarez on the border between Mexico and the United States, in this interview Father Crosthwaite also highlights the issue of migration: “ When  people think of migration”, he remarks,” they think of large numbers of Mexicans going to ‘El Norte’ but because of the financial crisis in the United States and the improved situation  of the economy in Mexico it seems a lot of people are returning to Mexico. Recent  statistics show that more Mexicans are leaving the United States than crossing the border now. Whereas migration from Central America to El Norte has increased. And of course the passage is on the Texan border".