Catholic Priest Murdered in Mexico: The 13th Such Killing During the MORENA Administration

(ZENIT News / Huejutla, México, 09.19.2026).- Father Román de la Cruz Hernández, 48, was found dead from gunshot wounds beside a rural highway in Hidalgo on September 15, prompting the Diocese of Huejutla and the Mexican bishops to demand a full investigation while warning against speculation about a crime whose motive remains unresolved.

De la Cruz Hernández was pastor of Santa Cruz, a community of about 1,500 people in the Huasteca region. His body was discovered along the Tolago–Tetlapaya road, in the municipality of Lolotla, near the boundary with Tlanchinol. Authorities also found a vehicle at the scene and what appeared to be an intimidating message, although its contents and possible connection with the killing remain matters for investigators.

The Diocese of Huejutla has avoided drawing conclusions before the investigation establishes what happened. Bishop José Hiraís Acosta Beltrán asked Catholics not to speculate, while insisting that the authorities must clarify the circumstances and ensure that the crime does not go unpunished. The Mexican bishops’ conference made the same demand, expressing sorrow over the killing and solidarity with the priest’s family, parishioners, fellow priests and the wider Diocese of Huejutla.

The restraint is significant. The presence of a threatening message has naturally raised questions about whether the killing was connected to criminal activity, but neither the Church nor investigators have established such a motive. The area has experienced conflicts between criminal groups over illicit fuel trafficking, and the Diocese of Huejutla had already warned in August that criminals had hacked the phones of several priests and impersonated them in attempts to extort parishioners.

For the Church, however, the immediate concern extends beyond identifying the perpetrators. Bishop Acosta Beltrán described the wider situation of violence in Mexico as alarming and called on society to recover a culture of peace and reconciliation, insisting on respect for every human life. His appeal deliberately places the killing within a broader moral landscape: violence does not become less destructive because its victim happens to be a priest, nor does the value of a life depend on the circumstances surrounding its death.

The case also adds to a longer record of violence affecting Catholic community. The Centro Católico Multimedial, which tracks attacks against clergy and other members of the Church, reports 28 incidents involving Church personnel during the current federal administration of MORENA, including four murdered priests. Earlier this year, its annual report had documented 13 priests murdered during the governments associated with the current political era, while also drawing attention to threats, extortion and attacks against lay people involved in pastoral activity.

Father De la Cruz Hernández is also reported as the 14th priest murdered in Mexico over the past seven years, according to the count cited in reports following his death. One of the most notorious recent cases came in 2022, when Jesuit priests Javier Campos and Joaquín César Mora were shot inside a church in Chihuahua, together with a tourist guide. Their deaths shocked the country precisely because a Catholic church—normally a place of refuge, prayer and community—became the scene of the violence itself.

The Mexican bishops are therefore asking for something more fundamental than a statement of condemnation. They want the state to establish the facts, identify those responsible and apply the law. That demand for justice is inseparable from religious freedom: a society cannot fully protect freedom of religion if priests, parish workers or ordinary believers can be intimidated or killed while carrying out their religious and community activities.

The Church’s response in Huejutla has not been framed in terms of retaliation. Its language has been directed toward peace, reconciliation and respect for life. Bishop Acosta Beltrán urged believers to reject resentment, revenge and hatred rather than allowing violence to reproduce itself in the hearts of those who suffer from it.

That makes Father De la Cruz Hernández’s death more than another statistic in Mexico’s long record of criminal violence. He was a parish priest serving a small community, and his murder has left unanswered questions about why he was killed and whether his ministry had anything to do with the attack. Until those questions are resolved, the most responsible response is neither speculation nor silence, but a transparent investigation.

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