Mexican church presses for justice on anniversary of prelate's murder

Published: 2004-05-25

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- Eleven years after assassins shot and killed Cardinal Juan Jesus Posadas Ocampo of Guadalajara church officials in Mexico continue to press authorities to discard the conclusion that the shooting was an accident. Cardinal Posadas died in a hail of gunfire May 24, 1993, as he sat in his car at the Guadalajara airport. Bishop Javier Navarro Rodriguez of San Juan de los Lagos told local media May 23 that several witnesses had told priests during confession that they had information that indicated Cardinal Posadas was marked for death that day. "A taxi driver who transported two of the people who died in the shooting says he heard something, but he didn't testify for fear of reprisals," Bishop Navarro told the Milenio newspaper. Bishop Navarro, who was an auxiliary bishop in Guadalajara at the time of the shooting, said several witnesses never testified because "many people involved in the case have died."

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