A Mexican Catholic priest was shot and wounded on a highway in Guerrero state in southern Mexico, the Mexican Council of Bishops stated.
Gunmen on a motorcycle approached the priest's vehicle and opened fire on July 28 near the violence-plagued town of Chilapa, Guerrero state prosecutors said.
Vélez Jiménez was shot in the cheek and recovering in a hospital, but he "out of danger."
Father Jiménez is the pastor of St. Gerard Maria Majella parish in the town of Iguala in the Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa.
The shooting occurred about a month after two Jesuit priests and a tour guide were killed in Chihuahua's mountains. A local drug gang leader allegedly killed the priests on June 20 while they were protecting the guide.
Parishes across the country are engaged in a month-long prayer for the all the victims and perpetrators of violence.
The Diocese of Chilpancingo-Chilapa said, “We call upon our brothers whose crimes cause so much suffering and death, to convert and stop doing evil.”
According to the Catholic Multimedia Center, seven priests have been killed under the current administration, which took office in December 2018, and at least two dozen during the previous administration.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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