Mexican bishops pulled into controversial oil debate

Published: 2008-04-03

MEXICO CITY (CNS) -- The Catholic Church was pulled into a national debate over the future of the oil industry, as a Mexican Cabinet minister urged bishops to support a plan that would allow multinational companies to invest in Mexican energy. Interior Secretary Juan Camilo Mourino met behind closed doors with senior church officials April 1 at the annual meeting of the Mexican bishops' conference on the outskirts of Mexico City. Both the bishops and Mourino's office reported that the secretary said energy reform was urgent for Mexico's future prosperity. Mourino "showed them a presentation about the situation in (government oil monopoly) Pemex," his office said in a statement. "He signaled the importance of society working together with the government to achieve the reforms the country needs." In a news conference, senior bishops said that the minister had explained that investment was necessary for the wealth of future generations. "We have heard the secretary and we trust that the powers of our union and the lawmakers will make the best decision for our country," said the Bishop Faustino Armendariz Jimenez of Matamoros. The government's reform proposal is backed by international investors and U.S. and European oil companies keen to work on vast petroleum reserves in the Gulf of Mexico. The reformers argue that it if action is not taken, Mexico's oil production will drop sharply, affecting Mexican coffers and U.S. oil supplies. Pemex provides the U.S. with its third-highest source of foreign oil, after Saudi Arabia and Canada, and gives the Mexican government 40 percent of its income.

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