It surprises me that for whatever reasons, Latin America likes their idols no matter what. Seriously, think for a moment about how many Latin American Catholics exist, then narrow down into Mexico and consider how many saints are worshiped by Mexican Catholics. It begins to boggle the mind how Latin America is so lost, or at least headed towards being lost, while their neighbors to the north finish off Easter celebrations this past week. I'm sure I was making a good point here, until I realized that Jose Luis De Jesus over in Florida has convinced much of Florida into believing that he is the incarnation of Jesus Christ.
With such a terrible introduction, you're bound to get a few gold gems in here right? Yes. Saint Death is in the cross hairs of the Drug War participants. At least that's what Saint Death's followers are saying, as they try to protest the destruction of a shrine dedicated to the relatively unorthodox saint. Over 5 million followers are claiming that Saint Death is not some fringe believe branch of Catholicism, they truly are citing that this destruction of their shrine is nothing more than disrespect for their religion.
Maybe it's not the religion so much as it is what has happened around the shrines that is getting targeted for destruction. For instance in 2007 gunmen shot and killed three men at a Santa Muerte altar in Nuevo Laredo. At another shrine, in Tepito, a growing black market is booming selling contraband, drugs, and so much more, creating a police nightmare.
"They link her with criminals because many of the people they arrest bear her image. But there are a lot of hard-working people behind her," said protester Ernesto Hernandez, 40, who said he owns a furniture shop on the edge of the capital.Sounds like a mixed bag of cultural animosity. Whether people are being socially targeted for discrimination, or being persecuted for their beliefs is a topic of debate. However, it seems that wherever the Saint of Death has a shrine, trouble, violence and yes, death seems to follow.
Src - The Guardian, Reuters
Image source - The Guardian
That's nonsense of course. It's like saying that because a large number of people were gunned down in San Salvador's Cathedral in March 1980, that Catholicism was responsible for killing Salvadorians.
ReplyDeleteSecondly, there's an assumption that because Santa Muerte includes Roman Catholic ritual, it's a Roman Catholic "cult". That's like saying Lutherans are a Roman Catholic cult.
Santa Muerte attracts a lot of poor and economically marginal people... the very same class of people who are likely to be involved in criminal activities.
The latter is being spun by PAN (which is, after all an overty clerical party), to justify religious persecution. The ONLY legal justification given for destroying Santa Muerte shrines is that they were on public roadways (corpses have been left at Virgin of Guadelupe shrines as well, something ignored by the foreign reports), which also sometimes are on public spaces, and equally illegal, but overlooked.
Indeed, the goal is to create a conversation, and I may have undoubtedly shot my own foot in this one, but alas...a conversation it has started...even if I come off as uninformed.
ReplyDeleteSlight correction, Catholics don't "worship" saints, there a big difference between respecting them and look to them for guidance, and "worshipping" them altogether.
ReplyDeleteI see this alot with people who aren't Catholics and it bothers me because its a lack of understanding and willingness to look at the faith a little closer than jumping to conclusions.