Two priests were kidnapped and killed in the Mexican state of Veracruz, raising the death toll of prelates murdered in Mexico to 14 in less than four years.
Father Alejo Nabor Jimenez Juarez and Father Jose Alfredo Juarez de la Cruz were dragged at gunpoint out of Our Lady of Fatima Parish in Poza Rica, a Gulf Coast oil city consumed by crime in recent years, the Diocese of Papantla confirmed in a statement.
Media reported the men were found Sept. 19, one day after their abduction, along the side of a highway with their hands and feet bound. They were beaten and had gunshot wounds, according to media reports.
A driver employed by the parish also was abducted, Mexican media reported, but was found unharmed.
State officials said Sept. 20 that five men participated in the abductions and one of the suspect's identities was known. Robbery of a church building fund was cited as a motive, Veracruz media outlet Plumas Libres reported.
"In these moments of pain, impotence and tragedy provoked by violence, we raise our prayers to the heavens for the eternal rest of our brothers and implore to the Lord the conversion of the aggressors. Of the authorities, we await the clarification of the acts and the application of those responsible," the Mexican bishops' conference said in a statement.
Violence has struck Veracruz clergy previously. In 2013, two priests in the Diocese of Tuxpan were murdered in their parish.
PICTURE: Women light candles in Our Lady of Fatima Church in Poza Rica, Veracruz state, Mexico, on Tuesday. Two of the church's priests were found dead on Monday
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