http://reuters.myway.com/article/20050921/2005-09-21T155025Z_01_DIT156958_RTRIDST_0_ODD-MEXICO-DRUGS-DC.htmlChurch in row over "purified" drug money
Sep 21, 11:50 AM (ET)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A Mexican bishop sparked a row with the government on Tuesday after he admitted the Catholic Church accepted alms from drug traffickers and that they were "purified" when they reached its coffers.
Ramon Godinez, the bishop of Aguascalientes in central Mexico, said donations from drug gangs occurred "everywhere" in the country, adding that it was "not up to us to investigate where the money comes from," daily Reforma newspaper reported.
"You don't have to burn the money just because it's bad. It's better to transform it ... I've known of cases (where) it's been purified," he added.
The remarks caused controversy in Mexico, where more than 1,000 people have been gunned down this year in a spiraling war between rival drug gangs, many in cities along the U.S. border.