On October 20, 2024, Father Marcelo Pérez was assassinated in the city of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in Chiapas, Mexico’s southernmost state. The parish priest’s advocacy for the rights of the Indigenous in the rural Simojovel area had provoked death threats over the years, and was probably the reason for his murder. In this mountainous area where conflict has simmered unabated for over thirty years, such situations are not uncommon. For decades, the Catholic Church has spoken out in defense of its parishioners, supported displaced communities, and negotiated between armed groups. Its priests have often paid the price.

A photojournalist in Chiapas, Mexico, documents the role of the Catholic Church in the ongoing struggle for human rights.