Pope condemns drug trade's 'dealers of death' in Mexico
ECATEPEC, Mexico (AP) — Pope Francis condemned the drug trade's "dealers of death" and urged Mexicans to shun the devil's lust for money as he led a huge open-air Mass for more than 300,000 people Sunday in this violence-riddled city.
"Let us get it into our heads: With the devil, there is no dialogue," the pope said at the biggest scheduled event of his five-day visit to Mexico.
Francis brought a message of encouragement on the second full day of his trip to residents of Ecatepec, a poverty-stricken Mexico City suburb of some 1.6 million people where drug violence, kidnappings and gangland-style killings, particularly of women, are a fact of life.
Pilgrims wave flags as they wait for the arrival of Pope Francis in Ecatepec, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. Pope Francis will give a Mass at an outdoor field in the capital's suburb of Ecatepec to an estimated crowd of 400,000 pilgrims. It is to be his biggest event during his trip to Mexico. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
"He's coming to Ecatepec because we need him here," said Ignacia Godinez, a 56-year-old homemaker. "Kidnappings, robberies and drugs have all increased, and he is bringing comfort. His message will reach those who need it so that people know we, the good people, outnumber the bad."
In a clear reference to the drug lords who hold sway in the city's sprawling expanses of cinderblock slums, Francis focused his homily on the danger posed by the devil.
"Only the power of the word of God can defeat him," the pope said.
In a final prayer, he urged Mexicans to make their country into a land of opportunity "where there will be no need to emigrate in order to dream, no need to be exploited in order to work, no need to make the despair and poverty of many the opportunism of a few, a land that will not have to mourn men and women, young people and children who are destroyed at the hands of the dealers of death."
The faithful lined the pope's motorcade route to the huge field where the Mass took place, tossing flower petals as he passed by and cheering with pom-poms in the yellow and white of the Vatican flag.
Vendors sold T-shirts, plates with Francis' image on them, pins, bandanas and cardboard-cutout figures of the pope.
An estimated 100,000 people have been killed and 27,000 have disappeared in gangland violence since President Enrique Pena Nieto's predecessor launched an offensive against drug cartels shortly after taking office in late 2006.
At least 1,554 women have vanished in Mexico State since 2005, according to the National Observatory on Femicide, and last year the government issued an alert over the killings of women in Ecatepec and other parts of the state.
Nevertheless, women who came to see Francis said they felt safe, thanks in part to the huge security presence. The government assigned more than 10,000 police, soldiers and members of the presidential guard to protect the motorcade and Mass.
"I'm protected by my faith and the joy of seeing the pope up close," said Graciela Elizalde, 35, who arrived at the field Saturday evening and spent the night on the street, "and the thugs know that we the good people have come out to take the streets."
She added: "The pope is not going to change things, but at least he will touch the hearts of those who do harm and are trying to destroy the country. He is the 'messenger of peace' because that's exactly what Mexico needs, not just Ecatepec."
However, Maria de la Luz Estrada, coordinator of the National Observatory on Femicide, said she was disappointed that Francis didn't directly condemn violence against women or offer support to families of victims, saying that at the very least he could have made reference to discrimination against women.
"I still feel that he owes us these words," she said.
Conchita Tellez, 65, from the border city of Mexicali, held out hope that Francis can help ease the troubled soul of the country.
"The pope comes to Mexico at a very ugly moment," Tellez said, "and he comes to pray for us and for all those who lost hope and have submerged the country in blood and violence."
Francis' grueling schedule seemed to be taking a toll on him on Saturday, when the 79-year-old pontiff appeared to nod off at an evening Mass and also lost his balance and fell into a chair set up for him. He appeared much livelier Sunday, beaming and waving at the crowds along his route.
As Francis drove down a main boulevard before adoring faithful in central Mexico City, dozens of emotional nuns rushed the metal barricades to salute the popemobile and a group of lay missionaries, mostly teenagers, sang the traditional Mexican folk song "Cielito Lindo."
At his last stop, a pediatric hospital, one girl performed a heartfelt rendition of "Ave Maria" for the pope. Another presented Francis with a handmade Valentine's Day card with a big heart on the front. "You made this?" Francis asked as he accepted it. "Gracias."
The pope bent down and kissed dozens of sick kids, playfully mussing the hair of the older ones. Some posed for selfies with the pope. Several rose from their wheelchairs to embrace him. Francis also played doctor to one little boy, administering medicine from a dropper.
The pope makes a point of stopping at children's hospitals during his foreign trips, both to visit with the kids and to thank the staff for caring for them. While parts of the encounters are televised, Francis also visits bedridden patients in private for more personal encounters.
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Associated Press writers Maria Verza, Mark Stevenson and Peter Orsi contributed to this report.
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Nicole Winfield on Twitter: www.twitter.com/nwinfield
People listen to Pope Francis as her gives Mass in Ecatepec, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered Sunday as Pope Francis began what was expected to be the biggest event of his five-day trip to Mexico. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
In this photo taken on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016, Pope Francis waves to people as he arrives to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. Francis will celebrate Mass at the Basilica, considered the largest and most important Marian shrine in the world. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)
Pope Francis rides on a popemobile as he makes his way through pilgrims waiting for Mass in Ecatepec, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. Pope Francis will give a Mass at an outdoor field in the capital's suburb of Ecatepec to an estimated crowd of 400,000 pilgrims. It is to be his biggest event during his trip to Mexico. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
Pope Francis arrives aboard the popemobile to celebrate a Mass in Ecatepec, Mexico, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016. Pope Francis will give a Mass at an outdoor field in the capital's suburb of Ecatepec to a crowd of hundreds of thousands of pilgrims. It is to be his biggest event during his trip to Mexico. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Police escort Pope Francis as he makes his way through one of Mexico City's main avenues on the popemobile, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2016, 2016. Pope Francis will give a Mass at an outdoor field in the capital's suburb of Ecatepec to an estimated crowd of 400,000 pilgrims. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
Pope Francis, seen on the other side of the framed glass that usually holds the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, holds a flower bouquet as he prays to her inside a private room at the Basilica built in her honor, during Mass in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. The image in the frame was removed and placed inside the private room. The pontiff's five-day visit included a prayer before the Virgin of Guadalupe shrine, the largest and most important Marian shrine in the world and one that is particularly important to the first Latin American pope. (AP Photo/Gregorio Borgia)
Relatives of David Ramirez and Miguel Rivera, who disappeared in the state of Guerrero in 2012, hold banners as they try to reach the route Pope Francis will take to the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Saturday, Feb. 13, 2016. Pope Francis issued a tough-love message to Mexico's political and church elites Saturday, telling them they have a duty to provide their people with security, justice and courageous pastoral care to confront the drug-inspired violence and corruption that are tormenting the country. (AP Photo/Felix Marquez)
