Posadas Ocampo, Juan Jesús (1926–1993)
Posadas Ocampo, Juan Jesús (1926–1993)
Cardinal archbishop of Guadalajara, Mexico, Posadas Ocampo was born on November 10, 1926, in Salvatierra, Guanajuato, and completed his seminary studies in Morelia in 1943. A product of the anticlerical environment in the 1930s, Ocampo Posadas began his career as a parish priest in Patzcuaro, Michoacán, in 1950, after which he became a professor at his alma mater until 1969. He was then selected as bishop of Tijuana and served there from 1970 to 1982. The following year he became bishop of Cuernavaca, Morelos, where he actively countered the liberal liberation influence of his predecessor. He held many posts in the Mexican Episcopate and became archbishop of Guadalajara, one of Mexico's most influential dioceses, in 1987. An outspoken critic of the government, he was mistakenly murdered on May 24, 1993, by gang members from Tijuana, allegedly hired to kill a drug kingpin. His assassination contributed significantly to an environment of political instability in Mexico.
See alsoCatholic Church: The Modern Period .
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Carpizo, Jorge, and Julián Andrade. Asesinato de un Cardenal: Ganancia de pescadores. Mexico: Nuevo Siglo Aguilar, 2002.
Moreno Valencia, Héctor, and José Alberto Villasana. Sangre de mayo: El homocidio del cardinal Posadas Ocampo. Mexico: Océano, 2002.
Roderic Ai Camp