Not with Flesh and Blood

The funeral of Fr. Jesus Plaza, SDB and Brother Luis Sanchez, SDB on Monday, February 17

Put on the armor of God so that you may be able to stand firm against the tactics of the devil. For our struggle is not with flesh and blood but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground. Ephesians 6:11-13

As I reported last time, two Salesians were murdered over the weekend in Valencia, Venezuela, when their school residence was broken into. On one level this is a very personal tragedy, and there are no words that can properly express the loss of Fr. Jesus Plaza, 80, and Brother Luis Sanchez, 84. Both dedicated their lives to the Gospel and sharing the love of Christ with young people. How ironic that two of the suspects in connection with the murders are teenagers or pre-teens.

Unfortunately this is not the first time that I've read about priests or religious being murdered in recent years. Some are martyrs for the faith, others are victims of random crime. A priest in New Jersey was killed in 2009 by a parish employee angered by his recent firing. A Salesian in the Dominican Republic was killed a few years back in a carjacking. These murders, like all murders are senseless, but at the same time I never had the feeling that there was something darker lurking underneath the surface beyond the "normal" evil that is murder.  There were no plots, conspiracies or grand designs involved as far as I could tell. The killer's motives were transparent, though the crimes still shocking. Even in the famous case of the Monks of Atlas, whose deaths are so shrouded in mystery, we know that whatever the particulars, they had made a decision to stay in a dangerous location, making violent death a strong possibility. The Salesians in Venezuela are going to pains to say that these murders are apart of the epidemic of crime effecting their country, and are not connected with any political strife they're presently experiencing. I'm not going to argue with that. But these killings seem to have a different feel to them, one that points to something deeper and darker.

On the surface this does seem like a routine robbery gone terribly wrong. Schools getting broken into are not uncommon. Computers and other AV equipment are the usual targets, and there's sometimes loose cash hanging around in teachers' desks; field trip money, prom money that teachers are collecting, things like that. Gangs are most often behind the break-ins, though the cash grabs are most likely "inside" jobs; students who know what teacher is collecting money for what event, and where they hide it, which is usually in an obvious place.

The break-in at the Salesian school in Valencia, Venezuela has all the earmarks of a gang related burglary. Add to this the rampant crime, as well as the social-political unrest which has plagued that nation for months, the pieces fall into place neatly for a rather prosaic explanation for what happened. So while these murders are all very shocking, the explanation for why they happened seems to be very logical. So why the queasy feeling that things may be more than what it appears?

Because gangs in Latin America and, increasingly, in the United States, are connected with drug cartels. Many of these cartels have adopted a form of occult practice and spirituality; a mixture of "folk Catholicism" and occult beliefs known as Santa Muerte (Saint Death). She is usually depicted as a grim reaper holding a sickle and an orb. Statuettes and other images of the "saint" come in black and white (I know this because someone left one of each outside our church doors a number of years back). She is invoked for protection and good fortune, especially before big drug deals and other criminal activities like robberies. She is nonjudgmental, or so her devotees claim, the goddess for those whose lifestyle leaves them outside the norms of both civil society and mainstream religions like Christianity. Though there are devotional elements associated with Catholicism mixed into Santa Muerte ritual, they view the Church as an enemy and priests as legitimate targets for violence and murder. Don't take my word for it, the FBI has a report on their website detailing this insidious cult, which is especially popular among the Mexican gangs.

The reports I've seen in both English and Spanish on this tragedy have been brief. And yes, the Salesian provincial there has rightly tried to down play the sensationalistic aspects of the murders. Still, I'm faced with questions. I'm not familiar with the layout of this school's campus, but Salesian residences are usually placed in an out of the way location on the grounds, if it's on the property at all. They are not practical targets for thieves if their goal is to steal computers, grab some cash and get out quick. They also went out of their way to enter the chapel to desecrate the Blessed Sacrament. Again, while the community chapel isn't hidden per say, it is in a quiet part of the house that typically has to be sought out. While avoiding hysteria is important, I can't help but think that this was a robbery, true, but one that didn't go "wrong" as far as the perpetrators' intentions are concerned.

This adds up, in my mind, to gangs, possibly ones with particular animus for the Church. And, sadly, young people with familiarity with the school. That the intruders were teens, one possibly as young as 12 years old, is incomprehensible, and yet not unheard of. Gangs do recruit kids that young, and indoctrinate their minds, steal their souls.

These gangs are not values neutral. They want to justify their actions as good. Many who engage in crime and vice as a way of life abandon God and religion. Atheism, though, is not a natural human inclination; we are "wired" for God. So when some one's life is at odds with traditional religious values, but they want to hold on to some transcendent connection one of two things happen. Traditional religion is kept but perverted in some way. The criminal reduces religion to superstition, often living a double life of devotion and murder, unable to see the contradiction. Otherwise esoteric devotions arise which are confused at best, demonic at worst. We know what side the gangs and cartels have thrown there lot in with.

The problem of organized crime in Latin America and the United States is a complex one. There are social, political and economic factors at work. But there are also spiritual realities at work. Yes, the murders of Br. Luis and Fr. Jesus are two of thousands of such killings that result from the rampant crime in Venezuela, be it organized or random. As good citizens, in the spirit of Don Bosco, we need to advocate social changes that will bring a world of greater justice and peace.

We also need to understand that there is a spiritual battle taking place, and the enemy isn't flesh and blood. He doesn't carry knives or guns. He seduces with promises of paradise and power, which leads to short term benefits and eternal death. The deaths of our brother Salesians came at the intersection of the earthly and spiritual struggle that we are engaged in. Our part, as children of the light is to advocate justice through peace, while aggressively fighting the powers of darkness with the spiritual weapons at our disposal.