Nothing has been heard since February 2013 from Father Alfredo Gallegos Lara, a pistol-packing priest
In Mexico, where as Father Alejandro Solalinde put it, there is almost no difference between drug traffickers and politicians, 12 priests were killed from 2006-11.
Father Alfredo Gallegos Lara, or Padre Pistolas as he is affectionately called, has not only pissed off drug traffickers and politicians but he has also pissed off Archbishop Alberto Suarez Inda for carrying a Colt M1911 pistol underneath his vestments. Nothing has been heard from the prominent priest since February 2013.
BUT THEN THERE IS “PADRE PISTOLAS”
Probably the most unusual Catholic priest you could ever meet
Borderland Beat
December 27, 2014
Alfredo Gallegos Lara, 61, is a catholic priest on the small town of
Chucándiro, in Michoacán state. He's famed for his social work: he gathers funds to build roads, restores churches in disrepair and pressures politicians to bring healthcare services and educational facilities to his parishes.
When he pulls off his religious vestments behind the altar of the Catholic church in this town in central Mexico, he reveals his jeans, a fancy western style shirt, crocodile boots, and a shiny black pistol.
He also sings country music, and he never leaves home without his trusty Colt M1911. He is widely known by the nickname Padre Pistolas, or 'Father Guns.'. No ordinary gunslinger, he may be Mexico's most unusual parish priest.
Mr. Gallegos is loved by his parish goers, who consider him a straight-shooting tough guy with a good heart. They love to see him packing heat, they love to see him sing his music.
Padre Pistolas was relocated by the church to Michoacán in 2004. When he arrived in Michoacán, the first thing he did was pressure local politicians into establishing a secondary school in the village. He then set his mind to building healthcare facilities in town, and currently tries to gather money to restore an old 450-year old church.
'We love him, because he speaks the truth and cares about us', local churchgoer Carlos Vargas says, 'He's a good priest.'
"Four of my friends have been killed, and three of my trucks have been stolen," he said, explaining that his ministry to drug addicts and the sick takes him through the back roads of central Mexico, where it is wise, he said, to be armed. The youngest of 10 children in a wealthy family with a long history of military service and fine marksmanship, Gallegos boasts 'I can shoot five Pepsi cans from a wall in a few seconds, from 25 meters. I can't do it anymore, though. The bishop says it's bad for the image of the church. But what am I supposed to do? I can't help it people come to look me up, in stead of the bishop...'
Ever since he entered the seminary at age 14, his handling of guns has been drawing popular attention as well as criticism from his church superiors.
"I have been fighting with the bishop. He is so angry with me. He doesn't like my gun," Gallegos said.
He said Archbishop Alberto Suarez Inda is also uncomfortable with his high-profile fund-raising and construction projects. Gallegos has built 40 miles of roads, as well as basketball courts, schools, churches, and bridges in and around Jaral del Refugio in the neighboring state of Guanajuato, where he was the parish priest for 24 years. He said he raised millions of dollars for the projects. He makes frequent fund-raising trips to Illinois, North Carolina, and California, and migrants there have encouraged him to create a Padre Pistolas website, key chains, compact discs, and posters.
He doesn't shy away from severely criticizing the catholic church in Mexico, politicians in general and those Michoacán in particular. 'Mexican bishops are mediocre, all of them. The church has forgotten what it's there for: to care for the weak.
Padre Pistolas was relocated by the church to Michoacán in 2004. When he arrived in Michoacán, the first thing he did was pressure local politicians into establishing a secondary school in the village. He then set his mind to building healthcare facilities in town, and currently tries to gather money to restore an old 450-year old church.
'Mexican politics make me sick. It's all corrupt. Politicians are the problem in this country. They asked me a few times to run for mayor. Of course I didn't do it, I'm an honest man!'
Gallegos's guns and his super-sized persona have gotten him into hot water with the local bishop, who wants him to leave building roads and hospitals to the government and televised musical performances to entertainers. "He wants me to stick to baptizing children and saying Mass," Gallegos said.
Gallegos said he loves the Church but its leaders need to worry less about his guns and more about the church's bigger problems, such as pedophilia scandals in the United States.
Suarez, the bishop, declined to be interviewed. "Oh, God," moaned the person answering the phone in his office in Morelia, when asked for a comment about Padre Pistolas. "Don't pay too much attention to him."
'I don't give a damn what people say about me, I'm not afraid of anyone.'
__________
“DD”, the author of this story, says he has been unable to find anything about Padre Pistolas since February 2013.
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