[Prelude I and Prelude II documented the historical background of events leading up to the appalling years of the Cristiada in Mexico. The Cristiada did not appear spontaneously; its seeds were sown after the French Revolution, its first sprouts were seen in 1810, the trees took root in 1914 with the Carrancistas and their “constitution”, and the conflagration exploded in the 1920s.
The 20th Century saw several Cristiadas, for example, see The Black Book of Communism which documents the atheistic hatred and intolerance of Christianity and its resultant tens of millions of unspeakable tortures, desolations, and deaths. Mexico suffered this a century before Russia and Eastern Europe and China and sundry lands in between, in many of which the faithful died, as in Mexico, proclaiming “Christ the King!”
As you read the preludes and as you read Mike’s documentation below, surely you can see ourselves, as in a mirror, in places clearly, in places blurrily.
Our awakening must be spiritual; a living desire to recognize that man was created in the image of God and his choice remains the same as in the Garden: God or man. The First leads to liberty and life, the latter, to tyranny and death — RMB]
La Cristiada (Viva Cristo Rey!)
This is dedicated to Jesus Perez Mendez, my father in law, from the State of Zacatecas, and my mother in law Maria Luna de Perez from the state of Guanajuato. Both states were in the epicenter of the Cristiada during their early childhoods.
Prologue:
The forces of good and evil collided in Mexico during the 1920’s. Surprisingly this catastrophic event is not part of the country’s memory. Few modern day Mexicans are even aware how this all played out or why [and few Americans are aware as well — RMB]
They also are not aware of the consequences of the “liberal” dictatorships of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional (PRI).
These liberals exercised power in a cruel and arbitrary way for decades. Aiding this tyranny are the liberal media and their historian cohorts, all of whom have blood on their hands.
Public education in Mexico is run by the government with liberal propaganda taught from K-12 and beyond in the public Universities (that are supposedly autonomous). Even comic books are loaded with left wing heroes [the same is true of Venezuela today — RMB]
Many Mexicans migrated to the US during these decades to escape the oppressive liberalism of Mexico.
The War’s Beginnings
The Cristeros Rebellion was a war of ideologies between the Catholic Church (stable force) and the Mexican Government (unstable liberal force). Wide scale violence (guerrilla warfare) began in 1926 and lasted for three years. The large scale outbreaks were confined to the States of Jalisco, Michoacan, Guanajuato, and southern Zacatecas. Moderate to minor outbreaks were also felt thoughout the Republic. The de facto end of the conflict did not occur until the election of Avila Camacho in 1940 (center right politician) after the disastrous left-wing presidency of Lázaro Cárdenas.
Root Causes of the conflict
Liberalism took root in Mexico during the mid 19th century among the ruling elites including Benito Juarez. In 1857 the Constitiution formally limited the power of the church and in 1859 reform laws separated the church and state. The revised constitution and reform laws proved to placate the liberals while at the same time being ignored by the government, this was particularly the case during the Porfiriato [the years of peace noted by William F Buckley, Sr. in his House testimony in 1919 — RMB].
The 20th Century Revolutionaries
Madero — The first ruler after Diaz was Francisco Madero, who had committed to cleanse the corrupt federal and state governments. The Church gave Madero its cautious support, but held it up, when he refused to acknowledge the church’s unifying influence. The church then ended her support for Madero, which was followed shortly thereafter by Huerta’s seizing power and allegedly having Madero killed [see Prelude I for further discussion and detail — RMB]. Afterwards, the church’s further supported Huerta which enraged the liberal revolutionaries.
Zapata — Stance towards the church was ambiguous. He discribed himself as a conservative catholic, but at the same time would shoot a priest without hesitation. The US liberals lionized Zapata, even making a movie portraying him as a champion of the people, while ignoring that he was a killer and mostly ignorant/illiterate. In spite of all his shortcomings he was a champion for agrarian reform which turned out to be his legacy. The commander of the Southern Army, Zapata was a formidable figure in Mexican history.
Villa — Believed in God, but not religion and was a clerophobe. After his break with Carranza, unsurprisingly, he became a defender of the Church. Villa often times played the US by trying to draw them into Mexican internal conflicts. Villa folklore ignored the fact that he murdered countless asians including walking them off the roof of the highest building in Chihuahua. A cold blooded killer, the commander of the Northern army (the most feared army in Mexico during that time), and a governor who carried out significant land reform in the north.
Carranza — The leader most associated with persecution of the church. His presidential victory in 1917 was the death knell for an independent church. Francisco Mujica speaking to the Constitutional committee in Queretaro signaled the government’s new stance:
“I am a foe of the clergy, because I consider it the most disgraceful and perverse enemy of our people. What has the clergy given…our nation? The most absurd ideas, the greatest contempt for our democratic institutions, the most unrelenting hatred for the very principles of equity, equality, and fraternity taught by the first democrat, Jesus Christ…. What sort of morality, gentlemen, will the clergy teach our children? We have seen it —the greatest corruption.”
The Constitution of 1917 — Although guaranteeing freedom of religious beliefs, it severely restricted religious practices. Article 24 stated that every religious act must be performed inside the churches which were under the supervision of the government. Article 130 restricted every aspect of religion in Mexico. No longer could priests hear confession, perform marriages; the number and assignments of the clergy were now controlled by the Mexican government; the church was not allowed to own land without the government’s consent [in effect, the Mexican constitution expected religion to remain, in word and deed, in no public place, but only between the two ears of the faithful. Is that not what the left desires in America also? — RMB]
Church leaders did not accept the new Constitution, and began to mobilize support in the US and in Rome.
The Mexican anticlericalism was the work of a small radical minority. Most Mexicans were Catholics and had no desire of seeing religious rituals changed. The Catholic majority response was the only true revolutionary during that period.
Obregon –– Presidency was supposedly to be a period of conciliation which gave way to a strict revolutionary law. However, in 1925 many state legislatures began implementing Article 13 (stripping civilian human rights). Obregon hand-picked his successor, Plutarco Elías Calles.
Calles — The true enemy of the church gained power in 1926 and began attacking the church on two fronts. First the leader of Church opposition, Jose Mora y del Rio was placed on trial; second, Calles immediately implemented Article 130 and Article 3 which prohibited schools operated by the Church. Calles actions prompted the church to suspend all church services until the anticlerical laws had been amended. The church went on strike, which was called by the Archbishop Mora y del Río who was promptly exiled by Calles. They also called for economic boycotts which did not hold because of economic issues throughout Mexico at that time. The 1917 constitution was amended in 2015 with little substantive change.
Calles did not count on popular opposition that resulted from these actions and the war that ensued.
Outcome was predictable: the Church survived despite being called the counter revolutionary. Actually, now the strongest Catholic Church in the world today is in Mexico with their devotion to our lady of Guadalupe and to Christ the King. If you happen to enter a factory throughout Mexico you will see a statue of “The Lady” at the center of the work area.
Carranza was assassinated, Obregon was assassinated by a Cristero, and Calles was exiled to the US [which he passionately hated for the anti-Communist attitudes of her people — RMB] in 1936. The Cristero war took 90,000 lives: 60,000 government, 30,000 Cristeros guerrillas, plus countless civilians. A settlement was finally reached between the Vatican and the government which ended the conflict in 1929.
This war was started by the liberals under the direction of Plutarco Calles against his own people and is not included anywhere in the memories of a nation. It was basically covered up, so much so, that few Mexicans are even aware that this ever happened.
The Vatican conferred sainthood to twenty-three clerical and laymen martyrs at the beginning of the 21st century. A brief accounting of their sacrifices will be listed in the next and final post on the Cristiada.
Plutarco Calles (center) and American Ambassador, Dwight Morrow (right), circa 1928. Morrow negotiated a cease fire to the Cristiada but not before tens of thousands had been killed.
Miguel Pro, Roman Catholic priest, executed in 1927. Although Mexican President Calles fully expected him to recant and had planned to use his recantation for propaganda purposes, Rev. Pro prayed, then stood before his executioners, spreading his arms as a sign of the cross and said his last words, “May God have mercy on you…. Lord, you know that I am innocent. With all my heart I forgive my enemies. Viva Cristo Rey!”