Pope prays for Mexico's murdered and kidnapped priests

A Church march in June against violence in Mexico

Just before the mid-day Angelus today (September 25, 2016), the Pope prayed for an end to the violence assailing Mexico, and especially for two priests murdered last week.

On Monday, the bodies of the priests were found ridden with bullets in a ditch at the side of a motorway in the gulf state of Veracruz. Father Alejo Nabor Jiménez, 50, and Father José Alfredo Juárez, 28, who was recently ordained, had been kidnapped from their parish church hours earlier.

A third priest, Father José Alfredo López Guillén was also kidnapped on September 20 from his parish house in the western state of Michoacan, a hot-spot for rival drug cartels.

This morning, the Holy Father assured the "dear people of Mexico" of his prayers that the violence "which has in recent days reached several priests might cease".

Thirty priests have now been murdered in Mexico since 2006. According to a 2015 report on International Religious Freedom from the US State Department, priests in Mexico are "victims of extortion attempts, death threats, and intimidation by organised criminal groups".

Defending marriage

As the Church lobbies for increased protection for clergy, it is also campaigning to defend marriage in the face of plans from the administration of Mexico's President, Enrique Peña Nieto, to legalise same-sex marriage.

Pope Francis added today that he was "very happy" to associate himself with the Bishops of Mexico "in supporting the commitment of the Church and of civil society in favour of the family and of life."