One of the saddest counter witnesses to the love of the Gospel of Christ in Mexico is the mutual intolerance which exists between the Christian churches and other Ministries, which make up part of the Mosaic of Christian believers here.
It has been my experience to have been ignored and shunned by some of my Evangelical brothers and sisters because of being a Catholic Priest. The Catholic Church is routinely condemned by Evangelical Ministers and generally blamed for all manner of ills and accused of being ‘The Beast of Rome' along with other even less flattering criticisms!
To my good fortune, things took an unexpected turn for the better when Pastor Luis Morin, the Pastor of a nearby Mexican Evangelical Church, came to our parish Church, Corpus Christi. He immediately apologised for the inconvenience of his unannounced visit... which I quickly made clear, was no inconvenience! He explained that his ministry needed some chairs for the folk attending their Praise meetings, which had been drawing large crowds of late.
Mr Leo Tenorio, our full-time parish Evangelist and I quickly loaded up 30 chairs and delivered them to Pastor Luis post haste, where he has been ministering to his flock for the last 13 years, with his wife Alondra and three children.
Contrary to my experience with some other Pastors, Pastor Luis has always been most friendly and tolerant towards other faith traditions. He is a gentleman of deep faith and conviction, based in a Biblical interpretation which takes seriously Christs' injunction to "love one another."
However, we both find ourselves some nine years later with a need for more chairs to cater for our respective overflow crowds.
In the midst of what can occasionally be a hateful lack of respectful dialogue, two Christian communities in Mexico - the Pastor of a Mexican Evangelical Church and the Parish Priest of a Catholic Parish (Fr Kevin Mullins) are appealing to your sense of Ecumenical generosity at this time by requesting your fiscal assistance for the purchase of more chairs.
Peace and Blessings to you all,
Fr Kevin Mullins and Pastor Luis Morin.
Fr Kevin Mullins SSC has worked for many years as Parish Priest of Corpus Christi, in Juarez, Mexico, one of the most dangerous cities in the world and often referred to as Murder City.