A second Cristero War?

OPINION:

Are we on the verge of conflict between church and state? 

It is history that is suppressed, but it is history that may repeat itself in some form. The Cristero War in Mexico and its ramifications may be understood by reviewing the tableau that preceded and accompanied it.   

Anti-Christian massacres were perpetrated by communist regimes in the last century, with persecution by the Communist Party of China still occurring. In the second and third decades of the 20th century, the Greek, Armenian and Assyrian genocides, committed by the Ottoman Empire, resulted in the murder of 2 million people.

Remarkably, savage assaults against Christians occurred in countries once central to Christendom. Roman Catholics in Spain, Portugal and Mexico all faced deprivations or death after the instillation of antireligious regimes. The establishment of the Second Spanish Republic, the Revolution of 1910 in Portugal and the Mexican Constitution of 1917 all presaged concerted attacks against the church, though all three nations were overwhelmingly Catholic.

These three movements replayed elements of the Reign of Terror, whose dechristianization and attempted substitution of not one, but two new religions, established by the state, succeeded only in turning France red with the blood of ecclesiastical officials and the faithful.

In Nantes in 1793 and 1794, whole families were set adrift in barges that were then sunk; priests and nuns were bound together with wire and thrown into the sea. This method of execution would be used later against members of a different faith, for the Nazis drowned Jews near Minsk this way.

The First Republic of France was a revolutionary state. An experiment only subdued by the appearance of a dictator, France suffered gravely in its quest to build the impossible ─ an earthbound utopia.

In Mexico, its anti-clerical constitution, heavily imbued with socialist ideals, inculcated repression of the church. The prohibitions against primary education taught by clergy, open public worship, non-secular property rights, clerical standing in legal matters and monastic orders gutted the church. Article 27 of the constitution conveyed the power of expropriation to the state: the property obtained to be used or redistributed.

The Cristero War lasted from 1926 to 1929. Its slain exceeded 100,000, with many more persons displaced. The execution or the forced renunciation of orders reduced the number of Mexican priests by 90%. Nuns were subject to rape or public humiliation. This infamy was so great that 26 martyrs of the rebellion were made saints and 14 more, beatified. All this, yet this history is not taught in America, for it undoes political orthodoxy.

The Cristero War caused a massive wave of immigration to the United States: a significant percentage of Mexico’s population resettled. Today, many assert that Latin Americans fleeing turmoil or peril are unwanted in America ─ supposedly due to prejudice on the basis of race.

No narrative that creates one ethnicity as the “other” is ever permissible. Neither does the appellation “people of color” represent the rich and unique identities present in Latin populations, which vary widely based on country of origin, due to Amerindian, European, African or Asian genetic markers.

Too often, however, unsubstantiated accusations of racism are made in the context of our nation’s immigration policies by a political and academic class that seeks to usurp the dignity of the individual to create an ersatz piety for themselves. This false mantle of virtue reached its ruinous zenith in the 2020 toppling of the statue of St. Junípero Serra, near San Francisco, during a time in which churches across America were desecrated amid protests.

The complex lineage of many Americans whose ancestors migrated from Mexico or the nations of Central and South America is exemplified by my wife’s family history. One great grandmother was Amerindian; her ancestors were Acjachemen, who were subsequently converted by Father Serra. Another was Spanish; her family helped Father Serra establish mission churches from the southern tip of California to its midpoint, upon joining this priest’s cohort in Sonora, Mexico, after his landing in Veracruz in 1749.

Acjachemen came to be known as Juaneno, after baptism at Mission San Juan Capistrano, named for the saint whom Father Serra emulated in his mortification of the flesh. Oblivious or disrespectful of history, the left has articulated a distorted view of this period. Therefore, this type of familial record is crucial for understanding the intricate and interwoven histories of many American families, who progressives would place within some fabricated misinterpretation of our country’s chronicle.

One political party has sought the supplication of Latinos in exchange for largesse provided by the state. The field, therefore, is open for the other party to speak to matters more important than materialism. They must speak to hearts full of faith.

The trajectory of political strife makes a second Cristero revolt conceivable in America. Religion is under attack and is undermined by legislation that confuses forgiveness, which is a virtue, with forced accommodation, even when such embracement is incompatible with religious belief.

The party that will win the coveted support of new citizens and those of Latin American ancestry must make clear that while there should be no establishment of a state religion, this should never mean that religion and its practice are to be banished from the public square or schools. As America’s Amerindian and Spanish history is proclaimed, it must be stated clearly that socialism and anti-religious creeds have no place in American politics. The party that enunciates this will attain substantial rewards, while forestalling national descension into intolerance and conflict.

• Richard Levine is a former deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for technology transfer and security assistance and a former NSC staff director for policy development and international economic affairs. His recent book is “America’s #1 Adversary And What We Must Do About It ─ Now!”