Visits
Father Ernesto Baltazar, from the Santa Cruz Cantera church, disappeared on October 27 after weeks of attacks on the temple and complaints of insecurity that were ignored
WRITING
The disappearance of the father Ernesto Baltazar Hernández Vilchisparish priest of the Santa Cruz Cantera church, has set off alarms in Tultepec and highlighted an insecurity crisis that had been brewing for months without official attention.
The 47-year-old priest was last seen on October 27 in the Ampliación La Piedad neighborhood, but it was not until four days later that the Attorney General’s Office of the State of Mexico (FGJEM) received the formal complaint and issued an urgent search bulletin.
The news has moved the entire community, which now demands answers and justice. Parishioners assure that Father Ernesto’s disappearance was not an isolated event, but the direct consequence of institutional abandonment and a series of previous crimes committed against the parish.
“Since September the robberies began. First they took the alms, then they cut the cables of the cameras and they even stole the temple bell,” said Rosa María, a member of the pastoral group.
On several occasions, neighbors say, the city council was alerted about the sabotage and the presence of suspicious people hanging around the premises. However, the complaints remained unfollowed. “The municipality knew perfectly well what was happening. We asked President Sergio Luna Cortés to send security and they never arrived. Now that the father disappeared, everyone wants to take a photo and say that they are investigating,” said Doña Carmen, a neighbor of the neighborhood, angrily.
The community channel “Y que Viva Cristo Rey”, linked to the parish, broadcast evidence of the vandalism since October and noted that the municipal administration had been informed in a timely manner.
The parish priest had assumed his ministry only on October 3, becoming a much loved figure by the inhabitants of Santa Cruz Cantera. The Diocese of Cuautitlán has requested citizen collaboration and maintains communication with the Mexican Prosecutor’s Office, which continues with the location work.
