Mexico City, Jan 31: The violence associated with organized crime that is besetting Mexico has spurred a Catholic priest to write and produce a series of short film features that he hopes will touch the hearts of both victims and victimizers.
The project, in which a group of communications students is participating, seeks "to prevent the spilling of more blood" in a country where more than 70,000 people have lost their lives over the past six years in the multi-faceted conflict among rival drug cartels and between the criminals and security forces.
"Enough of injustices, of rancor and revenge," the Rev. Omar Sotelo Aguilar told EFE.
The aim is "to do our bit and contribute to the repair of a society that has been seriously hurt by the wave of violence that, marked by thousands of deaths, has given rise to chains of hatred, rancor and revenge", he said.
The series will have 12 parts.
The first, lasting eight minutes, was presented Sunday to dozens of the faithful at the end of midday Mass at Mexico City Cathedral.
In the short film, 13-year-old Miri tells of how a group of drug traffickers comes to her house in the middle of the night to murder her parents.
During her parents' funeral, the young girl runs into the chief of the drug traffickers, who is carrying a wreath of flowers, and she embraces him as a sign of forgiveness.
"Forgiveness is the Achilles heel against violence and that is the message that we're wanting to give to society," in addition to depicting those who have caused deadly harm as human beings and calling upon them to repent, Sotelo said.
