El Salvador: Catholic priest slain by criminal gang

Father Cecilio Pérez

Source: Vatican Media

38-year-old Fr Cecilio Perez, aged 38, was reportedly shot dead by a presumed gang member while he slept on Saturday night in his parish in El Salvador. Father Perez was the parish priest of San José la Majada, in Sosonate Diocese near the Guatemala border.

His body, with three bullet wounds, was found in his room by some parishioners who had come to meet him at 5am for morning prayers. Besides his body was a hand-written note signed by the well-known Mara Salavatrucha gang saying "he did not pay the rent." Fr Cecilio had apparently refused to pay 'protection fees'.

The Bishop of Sonsonate, Constantino Barrera, who has asked for prayers for Fr Perez, expressed his grief and praised the work the priest was doing with his parishioners saying he was close to the people.

The Government of El Salvador condemned the murder and expressed its condolences to the priest's family and to the Catholic community.

In a statement it also said new orders have been issued to security forces to make sure the priest's killers are brought to justice.

El Salvador is one of the most violent countries in the world. The murder rate last year in the Central American country was 50.3 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, or 9.2 murders a day.