COMMUNIQUÉ TO THE PEOPLE OF THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF MEXICO
Recently, some brothers and sisters gathered at a “National Synod” (to which we were not invited and whose change of date and location was never communicated to us) decided to vote on the deposition of two active diocesan bishops.
1. There is not a province within the Anglican Communion in which a synod at any level has the power to depose a diocesan bishop.
2. Any modification to a national article or canon requires a 66% vote of the delegates with voting rights to national synod.
3. We, the diocesan bishops of the diocese of Western Mexico and the diocese of Southeastern Mexico, and at the time the late Bishop Francisco Moreno, have never sought to depose Bishop Treviño-Cruz, as it is recorded in writing since 2023.
4. It is not legally or canonically possible to depose a bishop WITHOUT a prior trial and WITHOUT the guarantees that the canons of the Church and the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States afford to all citizens, even within their associations (Article 13 of the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States, no one may be judged by exclusive laws).
5. The Sacred Episcopal Ministry is not dependent of the discretionary will of any synod, but only of other bishops under the conditions provided for by the canons and subject to the supplementation provided by higher laws.
6. In the legal system of the Mexican Republic, law and justice are not administered by majority vote in popular assemblies, representatives of the people, or synods. This principle applies to both secular and ecclesiastical bodies, and to both religious and non-religious organizations.
7. In Mexico, justice and its sentences are administered through the due process, as referenced in our Constitution and Canons, and which are always subject to the laws of the Republic and the Political Constitution of the United Mexican States. Every religious association, such as the Anglican Church of Mexico, must, by law, respect the due process and abide by the laws derived from the Constitution, such as the Law on Religious Associations and Public Worship and its regulations.
8. The decision of the brothers and sisters who met on June 20 and 21 of this year does not comply with the canons or the procedures stipulated by the Mexican legal framework. In this sense, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states in its Article 11 that everyone accused of a crime has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty. The bishops of Western Mexico and Southeastern Mexico have not been tried for any crime or situation referred to in the so-called “Extraordinary Synod,” which, based on the custom of the Anglican Communion, did not fulfill the purpose for which it exists in the provincial canons.
9. We ask everyone not to be deceived: the administrative records of the Federal General Directorate of Religious Associations have no legal effect that would change the fact that the bishops of Southeastern Mexico and Western Mexico are the legal representatives of their dioceses and of the entire Anglican Church of Mexico.
10. There is an indirect Habeas Corpus filed at the federal level which, until a ruling is issued and all appeals and/or review proceedings have been exhausted, does not allow a Synod to have any legal, canonical, or judicial effects.
11. We reiterate our condemnation of the electoral fraud and imposition in the alleged “election” of Rev. Oscar E. Pulido as Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Mexico, as evidenced by written testimony supported by audio recordings and signatures of more than 25 clergy and lay people of the Diocese of the Northern Mexico (made public on social media). We also lament the slander and public defamations promoted by Rt. Rev. Alba S. Hernández and Rt. Rev. Enrique Treviño-Cruz against the bishops of the Western Mexico and Southeastern Mexico.
In Christ:
Rt. Rev. Ricardo J. Gomez O.
Bishop and Legal Representative
Diocese of Western Mexico
Rt. Rev. Julio Cesar Martin
Bishop and Legal Representative
Diocese of Southeastern Mexico
LL.B. M. Dolores Tesalia Palos Hernández
Chancellor Diocese of Western Mexico
LL.B. Ricardo C. Mendoza
Chancellor Diocese of Southeastern Mexico
June 26th 2025
C.c. SJ.D., LL.M. LL.B. Alejandro González Ovalle
Judicial/Legal Advisor
