Catholic Church In Mexico Seeks Protection from Cartels

I had posted a thread on Padre Martinez "spilling the beans on famed drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman who had or has his "hide out" in Durango Mexico.

The AFP has now an article where the Padre is apologizing for the comment out of fear.

Mexico's influential Roman Catholic Church is seeking protection for its priests who fear they will be targeted in drug violence, a document said Thursday, after an archbishop said "everybody knows" where the nation's most-wanted trafficker lives.

Amid almost daily drug attacks, in which more than 7,000 have died since the start of last year, the archbishop of the northern state of Durango said last week that the alleged leader of the powerful Sinaloa cartel lived in his state, and "everybody knows it except the authorities."

The comments, for which Archbishop Hector Gonzalez Martinez quickly apologized, sparked fear among the region's clergy.

(...)

Rumors on the location of Guzman, who escaped from prison in 2001 and was named on the latest Forbes list of the world's richest people, have pointed to locations across the country, especially in the northern areas renowned for drug trafficking activity.

The federal prosecutor said via a representative in Durango that he had "no sign" of the presence of the cartel leader in that state.

After the archbishop's statement, two soldiers were found killed Wednesday in Durango, alongside notes referring to "El Chapo," according to media reports.

Some 300 priests have abandoned their churches due to threats in recent years, according to opposition senator Fernando Castro Trenti.

This should anger every Catholic worldwide and should give pause to every religious person worldwide. And quite frankly where is the Vatican on this?