Mexico

Mexican authorities found 49 bodies, with their heads, hands and feet severed, on a northern highway leading to the Texas border on Sunday morning, and blamed it on rivalry between drug cartels.

The bodies of 43 men and six women were found in a pool of blood near the town of San Juan on the Monterrey-Reynosa highway, about 80 miles southwest of the U.S. border, before dawn Sunday, The Associated Press reported.

While bodies were taken for DNA tests, Nuevo Leon state security spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters it would be difficult to identify the bodies as they were without heads, hands and feet. more >>

A major step forward for religious rights in Mexico was made this week, just days after Pope Benedict XVI visited the country, as the nation's Senate approved a constitutional reform that guarantees people the right to celebrate religious events.

The senators voted 72-35 in favor of the change on March 28, but at least 16 of Mexico's 31 state legislatures must still approve the reform, The Associated Press reported.

Although 76.5 percent of Mexico's population is Roman Catholic, according to the CIA's World Factbook, the country has no official religion, and in the past has held harsh anti-clerical laws and restrictions -- the government does not provide any financial contributions to the church, the church does not participate in public education, and public religious practices were banned. more >>

Pope Benedict XVI arrived in Mexico Friday as tens of thousands in the world's largest Roman Catholic country lined up along the streets to greet him with cheers and tears. He encouraged the nation and the church to fight the evils of drugs, violence and idolatry of money.

Mexican President Felipe Calderon and first lady Margarita Zavala received the pope at the Guanajuato International Airport, where he landed Friday to begin his first visit to Mexico and Cuba. "Your visit fills us with joy in moments of great tribulation," Calderon said as he welcomed the pope.

"This is a proud country of hospitality, and nobody feels like a stranger in your land," The Associated Press quoted the pope as saying upon landing. "I knew that, now I see it and now I feel it in my heart." more >>

A strong 7.6 magnitude earthquake has struck near Mexico City following a series of other earthquakes across the globe.

The earthquake's epicenter hit in Guerrero state Tuesday afternoon, causing an aftershock, which affected much of southern Mexico. The depth of the earthquake extended for about 12.4 miles, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"I have problems with pressure, I felt I was going to faint," Rosa Maria Lopez Velazquez, 62, told MSN outside a mall in Mexico City. President Felipe Calderon reported via his Twitter account that no serious damage had occurred. more >>

Mexico's epidemic of violence first erupted in 2006, according to most accounts. But an ex-Muslim from India, who serves as a Christian pastor along the Texas-Mexican border, believes the problem began much earlier, with human sacrifice, witches, and the adoration of death in ancient Aztec days.

Bombay-born Mujahid Hussein, 41, who found Jesus aboard a cruise ship in the Caribbean 17 years ago, is now known as David Elijah. He was ordained by Kings Revival Church International of Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the largest and fastest growing congregation in the Middle East.

"There are few places in America more evil, or more steeped in witchcraft and demonic influences, along with false prophets, divination and corruption, than the border region of northern Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley of south Texas," Elijah told The Christian Post. more >>

A missionary couple who founded a church in Monterrey, Mexico have been found slain in their home and were buried on Thursday as dozens of gatherers paid their respects.

John and Wanda Casias, originally from Texas, were found by their son, Shawn Casias, on Tuesday, who discovered that someone had broken into their home, ransacked their possessions, and left the missionaries strangled. His mother had a gash from a blunt object on her head and an electrical cord around her neck, while his father, discovered a few hours later in a small storage room, had also been strangled with an electrical cord, the Associated Press reported.

Apparently, a number of valuables had also been taken from the home, including a couple of computers, a plasma television, a safe that had been chiseled out of the wall and their Chevrolet Suburban car. more >>