02062015Fri
Last updateFri, 30 Jan 2015 6pm

Cardinal calls society to question the rise in suicides in Jalisco

“We need to investigate this issue of suicide and ask ourselves what is happening in our culture, in our families, and in our society to cause so many people to lose hope and decide to end their lives,” he declared in his Sunday homily to the packed Guadalajara Cathedral. 

He also asked the congregation to assess the circumstances surrounding people who commit suicide and he mentioned the lack of employment opportunities and sense of rejection within families. “We need to analyze the different factors that could be influencing these tragic decisions,” he said. 

He also explained that priests could play a vital role in helping depressed people who come to confession by listening and directing them to specialists and psychologists who can provide further professional assistance. 

His homily follows the news that a 45-year-old man shot himself dead in the cathedral on Monday January 19. 

In another shocking incident on Thursday January 22, a man jumped from the second floor of the Gran Plaza, killing himself and injuring a passerby.

Suicides in Jalisco are becoming a source of major public concern. According to statistics compiled by Jalisco Institute of Forensic Sciences, it is a growing phenomenon, with 316 cases in 2011, 356 in 2012, 379 in 2013 and 597 in the past year.

The statistics also indicate that the group at most risk are males between 18 and 34 years of age.