By embracing abortion, and what Pope John Paul the Great termed the culture of death, Mexico is yet again turning against its own rich culture. As readers of this website will know Mexico was founded as a totally Catholic empire under Don Agustin de Iturbide. Even through the early period of the republic Mexico still had Roman Catholic Christianity as the state religion. Yet, the Mexican Church has had scarcely few periods of peace and tranquility. By allowing prostitution, divorce, secular dominance, now abortion and a corrupt state which often blinks at drug smuggling and even human smuggling Mexico is turning its back on its cultural roots as a Catholic country, as the eldest daughter of the Church in the Americas and as the official kingdom of Our Lady of Guadalupe who has been the people's champion since the Spanish colonial era.
Whether or not Miss Ojeda is a devout Catholic I do not know. I do know what I like and I thought the dress was beautiful, meaningful, even a little educational, reflective of Mexican culture and Miss Ojeda was a vision of lovliness wearing it. I would also support anything which keeps the memory of the Cristeros alive. Now, it must also be said that some Mexican bishops expressed their disapproval of the dress, but at the time not all of the Mexican bishops were very supportive of the Cristeros either. Officials also admitted that it was too much for the appearance of this dress to coincide with the debate over abortion in which the Catholic Church naturally opposed the legalization and, yet again, was answered by demands that keeping the Church out of government should also forbid the Church from holding an opinion on anything the government touches -an argument Americans are familiar with as well. I think this is really what is at the heart of this scandal and that is the continuing cultural war in Mexico between the Church and the government which wants to crush it. The Mexican government does not want anyone to be reminded of how horrifically anti-Christian they have been, especially, but not limited to the many decades of the PRI reign.
This also shows that the fight the Cristeros took up has not gone away. Just as during their time the federal government was massacring Catholics so to, by legalizing abortion, the Mexican government today is also launching another campaign of death against its own people. Some might wonder how this could happen when the "conservatives" have won the last two presidential elections. The truth is that the current ruling party is only conservative when compared to the socialist and communist parties like the PRI. In fact, Mexico has not had a truly conservative, traditional government since the reign of Emperor Maximilian (and even he was quite a progressive monarch for his time and place) and since his murder tradition has been under attack and Mexico largely fought over by one brand of radical liberals after another; all claiming to be revolutionary and for the benefit of the people and yet, as we have seen, only making conditions for the Mexican people worse and worse so that they are fleeing for the United States by the millions.
Any talk about "protecting" the people and the government from Church interference should not be believed. The Church has most often been the only institution in Mexican history truly devoted to the people. What upsets the secularists in the government most about the Cristeros and their modern day counterparts is simple power. They desire political absolutism and see the Cristeros as a threat because they hailed Christ the King as their supreme leader rather than the ruling party in Mexico City. The reason they fear even the memory of the Cristeros is because they were so effective and very nearly successful. We will not see any images on the news of the babies massacred by the abortions that will now become widespread across the country. However, if you take the time, you can find pictures of the Cristeros; pictures of priests being executed by firing squad, pictures of Catholic peasants hanging from telegraph poles and pictures of federal soldiers showing off the heads of their Cristero victims. What will happen now with abortion is exactly the same principle only even more tragic -because unlike the Cristeros, the victims of abortion cannot fight back.
This is a cultural struggle Mexican Catholics have been fighting for a very long time and it is important to remember that in history, culture, the spirit and every way that matters Mexico is bound up with the Catholic Church. To be anti-Catholic is to betray the oldest and most true element of Mexican culture and the Roman-Spanish culture which gave birth to it. Mexico is no safe haven as we have seen, indeed, it seems that those places where the Church has been the longest are singled out by the Devil for the most fierce attacks. Let the memory of the Cristeros inspire us and let their fight continue. i Viva Cristo Rey !
