2 priests killed in Mexico devoted decades to remote region

By MARÍA VERZA
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Well before many roads were paved in Mexico’s remote Tarahumara mountains, Jesuit priest Javier Campos crisscrossed the area on a motorcycle. He spent five decades ministering to its impoverished communities and his familiar imitation of a rooster and love of singing earned him the nickname “Gallo.” His colleague Joaquín Mora was often at his side during the past 20 of those years even while drug cartels tightened their grip on the region. Together they brought a moral authority to balance the outsized influence of drug traffickers. The two priests aged 79 and 80 were shot to death in the small church on Cerocahui’s town square Monday.