Grieves Two Jesuit Priests Killed In Mexico, Pope Francis: Violence Doesn't Solve Problems

Pope Francis. (Wikimedia Commons/Xonn)

JAKARTA - Pope Francis condemned the killing of two Jesuit priests and a layman in Mexico on Wednesday, saying it was a shocking reminder of the level of violence in the country.

"So many killings in Mexico," Pope Francis said at the end of his general audience of thousands in Saint Peter's Square, the Vatican, citing Reuters June 22.

The State Attorney's Office in Chihuahua along the US border said three people died in Cerocahui City after a man took refuge in a church to protect himself from an attack.

Authorities said the man, identified as a tour guide, entered the church for cover. He was chased by the gang from Cerocahui, as reported by DW.

"They entered the church, chased someone and killed him. Apparently the priests came out and they were also killed," President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador told reporters.

The bodies of the three were then carried away by a group of men in the back of a pickup truck, Luis Gerardo Moro, head of the Jesuits in Mexico, said in a radio interview. Two of them are Jesuit priests, the same religious order as Pope Francis

"I also express my pain and shock over the killings in Mexico the day before yesterday of two of my brethren, Jesuits, and one layman," Pope Francis said.

"I am close in prayer and compassion to the Catholic community stricken by this tragedy. Once again I repeat that violence does not solve problems, but increases episodes of suffering," the Pope said.

The state of Chihuahua is a remote mountainous region in northern Mexico and is an area that is often hit by gang-related violence. The states are the main transit route for drugs on their way to the United States. Smuggling gangs compete fiercely for territory in the region.