DAILY CATHOLIC     TUESDAY     May 25, 1999     vol. 10, no. 101

NEWS & VIEWS
from a CATHOLIC perspective

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MEXICAN CARDINAL POSADAS' MURDER CONTINUES A MYSTERY

Crime Committed Six Years Ago Remains Unresolved

          MEXICO CITY, MAY 23 (ZENIT).- May 24 marked the sixth anniversary of the murder of the Archbishop of Guadalajara (Mexico), Cardinal Juan Posadas Ocampo, which occurred in the airport of that city, when the Cardinal arrived to welcome the apostolic nuncio in Mexico, Archbishop Girolamo Prigione.

          In its latest edition, 'Nuevo Criterio,' a publication of the archdiocese of Mexico, devoted a great deal of space to the petition of millions of Catholics for clarification of the murder.

          The article points out that in the past the Attorney General's Office tried to put an end to the case and close the investigations. But Cardinal Juan Sandoval's tenacity, and Attorney Jorge Madrazo's willingness have made the consideration of evidence which previously was disregarded or rejected possible.

          'Nuevo Critero' disclosed that the parallel investigation carried out by a special commission of the Congress of Jalisco rejected the version of former Attorney Jorge Carpio, which stated that Cardinal Posadas was the victim of an accident, when the car he was traveling in arrived at the airport during a shoot-out between drug traffickers.

          The publication stresses that according to the testimony of witnesses and the first version of experts, the Cardinal did not lose his life in a crossfire but was directly targeted in his car.

          Cardinal Juan Sandoval, the murdered Cardinal's successor, has warned that "there is a risk of rupture" in the Inter-Institutional Commission (which is composed of officials of the Attorney General's Office, the Church, and the Jalisco government), charged with clarifying the death of Cardinal Posadas, to the point that it has been suggested that every person could present "his final report, his version of the facts, and the Mexican people could then judge, even if there is no justice."

          Cardinal Sandoval revealed that the investigation of the crime was trapped in two theses: the official one: a crime due to confusion; and the Church's: a pre-meditated, direct murder. Each of these two versions are strongly defended by different members of the Inter-Institutional Commission, the Archbishop of Guadalajara stated.

          According to the Archbishop of Guadalajara, there is enough data to determine that the murder was premeditated and "direct." But the Attorney General's Office "under no circumstances, abandons the thesis of a crime due to confusion."

          Given the above, the Archbishop believes there will be no surprises in the results given in the report which could be presented tomorrow by the Inter-Institutional Commission, made up of the Assistant Attorney General, Jose Ramos; the Secretary General of the Jalisco government, Fernando Guzman; Bishops Luis Reynoso and Jose Fernandez; and Cardinal Juan Sandoval.

          "There is progress, the course of the investigation is about 90% complete, but there are no conclusions, the evaluation of the case is in the remaining 10%, and this is because each part defends its thesis," the Cardinal said.

          The Cardinal told the newspaper 'El Universo,' that new investigation leads have opened, and material has been recovered, including videos, statements, photographs and documents, which were not known of before, and "were found there, in the basement of the PGR (Dept. of Justice)."

          The Cardinal added that since the Commission in charge of the case was created, 70 new declarations have been added to the investigation, but important testimony still remains to be seen, such as that of former apostolic nuncio Archbishop Prigione, who has expressed his willingness to help solve the case. ZE9905231


Articles provided through Catholic World News and Church News at Noticias Eclesiales and International Dossiers, Daily Dispatches and Features at ZENIT International News Agency. CWN, NE and ZENIT are not affiliated with the Daily CATHOLIC but provide this service via e-mail to the Daily CATHOLIC Monday through Friday.

May 25, 1999       volume 10, no. 101
NEWS & VIEWS

DAILY CATHOLIC

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