January 2026
DIOCESE OF SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS
“Since apostolic times, the Church has seen the liberation of the oppressed as a sign of the Kingdom of God. Jesus himself, at the beginning of his public mission, proclaimed: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring Good News to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives’ (Lk 4:18).“ (Apostolic Exhortation Dilexi Te 59, ”On Love for the Poor,” Pope Leo
Fifteen years after the Death of jTatic Samuel Ruíz García, Prophet and Pastor of our Diocese, as a Community of Faith we continue to walk together, building peace for our communities and denouncing injustices.
Therefore, first of all, we thank God, all the parishes that make up the Community of Faith, the various diocesan services, as well as the NGOs and people of good will who, in different ways—through prayers, fasting, visits, and solidarity—accompanied the five imprisoned brothers of San Juan Cancuc and the brothers Pedro and Diego to achieve their release at the end of 2025.
We therefore recognize the peoples’ journey toward true justice and their commitment to accompanying the suffering and demands for solutions to the root causes of the various conflicts.
We acknowledge the ruling of the judges of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation for the release of the brothers who were unjustly imprisoned, but we also remind them that the case does not end with the release of the brothers, as reparations for the damage and a public apology are still needed, in accordance with the resolution issued by the UN.
We also stand with the brothers and sisters of Venezuela, who are suffering the violation of human dignity and the principles of sovereignty and self-determination of peoples by a foreign power, which uses many pretexts to appropriate the natural resources of a country. We do not expect any commitment to intervention and solution from international organizations, which seem to have reached the end of their cycle in the function for which they were created in such situations. We have already seen that they have not committed themselves to stopping the genocide in Gaza. We encourage our sisters and brothers of the Venezuelan people to continue building paths of solidarity, sovereignty, and independence with the freedom that our human essence gives us.
As Believing People, we will continue to work with a prophetic voice and in community for justice.
That is why we continue to denounce the violence that continues to occur in some municipalities of our state of Chiapas at the hands of organized crime, with armed confrontations, murders, disappearances, kidnappings, “protection money” extortion, intimidation of residents in these municipalities, and forcing them to attend public events or set up fake security checkpoints, with fines imposed for noncompliance. All of this leads to forced internal displacement. The people remain silent out of fear that their lives will be taken away. According to various news reports, this is happening with the collusion of some authorities at different levels of government, which promotes a strategy of territorial control for the reorganization of the interests of global power groups for the plundering of natural resources in our state of Chiapas, Latin America, and other parts of the world.
We also continue to denounce the increase in licensed and clandestine bars in different municipalities and their communities, as well as the sale of drugs, with the consequent increase in alcoholism, drug addiction, and prostitution, which has negative consequences for their inhabitants, among which domestic violence stands out.
We denounce the low prices paid for the basic grains we grow as farmers and the high prices of products necessary for households. We demand fair payment for what we produce as farmers and fair wages for workers. No to cheap labor! No to labor exploitation!
We also denounce the high rates for electricity consumption, given that Chiapas produces a large part of this energy and, furthermore, the dams located in our state, according to various reports, do not pay property tax. The same is true of large companies that consume millions of liters of water every day, depriving the inhabitants of cities and some towns of their basic right to drinking water. Enough of so much corruption!
We also demand respect for the rights of indigenous peoples, their land, and their territory. That is why we join the peoples who say No! to the San Cristóbal-Palenque Superhighway and other megaprojects that dispossess indigenous and peasant peoples and serve the interests of capitalism. No more intimidation of indigenous and peasant peoples. No more destruction of our Mother Earth.
Furthermore, given the impunity and injustice surrounding the cowardly murder of Father Marcelo, we continue to demand that the relevant authorities conduct a thorough investigation to find the masterminds responsible for the murder of jTatic Marcelo and punish them.
The true justice we so long for has not been done, because so far the real motive for this crime has not been investigated. The masterminds continue to enjoy impunity.
We continue to demand that the three levels of government bring justice to the murderers of other martyrs killed in our Diocese, in Nueva Morelia, Chicomuselo: Ignacio, Isidra, Teresita de Jesús, Rosalinda, Yojari Belén, Dolores, Alfonso, Azael, Urbano, Brandi, and Joel; in Nuevo Israelita: Simón Pedro, the martyrs of Acteal, among others.
Our martyrs have given strength to our journey as a diocese with their lives. They are no longer physically with us, but their spirit, their dedication, and their teachings to walk as prophets and shepherds will never end.
We, as a Community of Faith, will continue with our prophetic actions:
- We will continue to build paths of justice and solidarity so that there may be peace in families, neighborhoods, and communities, and so that we may change situations of violence.
- We call on all peoples to walk with hope, as we have remembered the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, who fulfills the promise of Emmanuel: “God with us.”
- We will continue our organized work to care for and defend Mother Earth and the land, as well as to raise awareness of this commitment among families and communities.
- Organized work to care for health through healthy eating and natural means.
- Defense of human rights.
- Coordination with peoples and organizations, as well as with other religious denominations, to build peace with justice and dignity.
In the face of this crisis of civilization, in a world convulsed by various wars and abuses of the dignity of individuals and peoples, we invite all men and women of good will, other religious denominations, and organizations to be seeds of hope, fighting to build paths of truth, justice, and peace.
May the mother of God and our mother, Mary of Guadalupe, accompany and protect us on this journey.
SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS, CHIAPAS; JANUARY 25, 2026
BELIEVING PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE OF SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS
LONG LIVE THE FAITHFUL!
LONG LIVE THE DIOCESE OF SAN CRISTÓBAL DE LAS CASAS!
LONG LIVE THE PROVINCE OF CHIAPAS!
LONG LIVE OTHER RELIGIOUS FAITHS!
LONG LIVE WOMEN AND MEN OF GOOD WILL!
LONG LIVE JTATIC SAMUEL!
LONG LIVE OUR MARTYRS!
LONG LIVE PEACE WITH JUSTICE AND DIGNITY!
Original text published by Frayba on January 25th, 2026.
Translation by Schools for Chiapas.