By Joseph DeCaro, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) - Thirty Evangelical Protestants from the village of Leyva Velazquez in Chiapas, Mexico, were forced to flee what remained of their homes last week, according to International Christian Concern.
"We were absolutely horrified this morning to learn that less than three weeks after imprisoning seven members of their own community for their religious beliefs, the leaders of Leyva Velazquez decided last night to completely destroy the homes of this Protestant community and drive at least 30 men, women, and children into the wilderness," said Isaac Six, ICC's Advocacy Director.
The seven Evangelicals in Leyva Velazquez were imprisoned by local Catholic leaders for refusing to renounce their Protestant faith. But federal officials have refused to either enforce the Mexican laws protecting religious minorities, or prosecute those responsible for breaking them.
According to ICC, there is a trend of religious persecution in rural Mexico. ICC estimates that this systematic intolerance of religious minorities encompasses hundreds of victims not only in Chiapas, but Hidalgo, Oaxaca, Puebla and Guerrero states.