José Raúl Vera López (born 21 June 1945) is a Mexican

friar A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders in the Catholic Church. There are also friars outside of the Catholic Church, such as within the Anglican Communion. The term, first used in the 12th or 13th century, distinguishes the mendi ...

of the

Dominican Order The Order of Preachers (, abbreviated OP), commonly known as the Dominican Order, is a Catholic Church, Catholic mendicant order of pontifical right that was founded in France by a Castilians, Castilian priest named Saint Dominic, Dominic de Gu ...

. He was the

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Saltillo The Diocese of Saltillo () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in Mexico. The diocese was erected on 23 June 1891. It is a suffragan in the ecclesiastical province of the metropolis (religious jurisdiction) ...

from 2000 to 2020. He is known as well for his struggle for

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

and

social justice Social justice is justice in relation to the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society where individuals' rights are recognized and protected. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has of ...

Biography

Early life and formation

Vera López was born on 21 June 1945 in

Acámbaro Acámbaro (Otomi: ) is a city and municipality in the southeastern corner of the Mexican state of Guanajuato, on the banks of the Lerma River, and the oldest of the 46 municipalities of Guanajuato. Acámbaro was originally a Purépecha settlement ...

, Guanajuato. In 1968 he started his religious training in the novitiate of the Order of Preachers, also known as the

, in the central Mexican city of

León, Guanajuato León (), officially León de Los Aldama, is the most populous city and municipal seat of the municipality of León in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. In the 2020 census, INEGI reported 1,579,803 people living in the city of León and 1,721,21 ...

. Subsequently, he studied

philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

and

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, Italy. Vera López is an

alumnus Alumni (: alumnus () or alumna ()) are former students or graduates of a school, college, or university. The feminine plural alumnae is sometimes used for groups of women, and alums (: alum) or alumns (: alumn) as gender-neutral alternatives. Th ...

of the Pontifical University of St. Thomas Aquinas (''Angelicum'') where he obtained a licentiate in Sacred Theology with a grade of

summa cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

. He was ordained priest by

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI (born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 until his death on 6 August 1978. Succeeding John XXII ...

on 29 June 1975 and consecrated bishop by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

on 6 January 1988.

Episcopal career

Vera López held several clerical posts, was appointed

of the

Diocese of Ciudad Altamirano The Roman Catholic Diocese of Ciudad Altamirano () is a suffragan diocese of the Archdiocese of Acapulco, in Mexico. Ordinaries * Juan Navarro Ramirez (1965–1970) *Manuel Samaniego Barriga (1971–1979), appointed Bishop of Cuautitlá ...

in 1987,

coadjutor bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of the Diocese of San Cristóbal de Las Casas in 1995, and bishop of the Diocese of Saltillo in 1999. In addition to his clerical career, Vera López is an avowed advocate for

and

. With the risk for his own safety he expressed his views against abuse of power, corruption, absence of the rule of law and violations of human rights. Furthermore, he opposes the fact that, although Mexico is not really a poor country, around half of its 110 million people live below the poverty line. He resigned his bishopric in 2020 upon reaching the age of 75.

Recognition

Vera López was nominated for a

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize (Swedish language, Swedish and ) is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the Will and testament, will of Sweden, Swedish industrialist, inventor, and armaments manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobe ...

in 2012. He received several recognitions, e.g.: *2000: Don Sergio Méndez Arceo National Prize for Human Rights *2000: Roque Dalton Medal *2007: Medal of Merit in Mexico City *2009: Samuel Ruiz Award *2009: Hijo predilecto de Acámbaro Award *2010:

Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize The Professor Thorolf Rafto Memorial Prize (''Raftoprisen'') is a human rights award established in the memory of the Norwegian human rights activist, Thorolf Rafto. Organization The prize is awarded annually by the Rafto Foundation for Human R ...

*2013: Doctorate ''honoris causa'' in humanities from the Dominican

Bayamón Central University The Bayamón Central University—or Universidad Central de Bayamón (UCB) in Spanish—is a private, Catholic university in Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Its predecessor began in 1961 by the Dominican Order as a community college of the Cathol ...

Puerto Rico ; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vera Lopez, Jose Raul 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Mexico Mexican human rights activists Mexican Dominicans Dominican bishops People from Guanajuato 1945 births Living people