MEXICO: Rush of Rites

All last week Mexico City’s vast cathedral was pack-jammed with a pious, fearful throng. They feared they might never see again the pure Jalisco Indian face of their beloved Archbishop Pascual Diaz. President Abelardo Rodriguez had just instructed his Attorney General to prosecute Mexico’s higher Catholic clergy on charges of fomenting revolution (TIME, Oct. 29). It looked as if every priest would soon be run out of Mexico. Eager to get their babies baptized, panting even to have confirmed infants not yet able to talk, Mexican mothers kept the Archbishop busy from dawn to dusk. As fast as he could he baptized all comers, emptying stoup after stoup of holy water until his tongue grew thick with blessings and his mighty arm was limp. To Nordic Catholics reports from Mexico that the Archbishop was performing confirmations somewhat prematurely were explained on the grounds of emergency and the impetuosity of Latin Catholics, Indian Catholics.