.- Authorities are investigating the murder of another Catholic priest in Mexico who was bound and stabbed to death in his room.

According to local media, Father Luis López Villa, parish priest of San Isidro Labrador in Mexico State, was found dead in his room shortly after 8 p.m. on Wednesday.



The suspects, who entered the rectory after breaking into the church, made enough noise to raise the suspicions of neighbors, who alerted church staff to the incident.

When the staff arrived, they found the 71-year-old priest dead in his room with his hands and feet tied and a stab wound in his neck and chest.

The suspects have not yet been identified.

Fr. Villa is the 18th priest to be murdered in Mexico in the last six years, with many more having been assaulted or kidnapped. In May, a priest was stabbed at the conclusion of Mass in Mexico City’s Cathedral, though he survived the attack.

Cardinal Norberto Rivera, Archbishop of Mexico, sent his condolences "of the Diocese of Nezahualcóyotl and of the whole Church in the country for the murder of the priest."

Cardinal Rivera said he offered his prayers in solidarity with the other bishops of the country, and prayed "to God our Lord for the eternal rest of the priest and the conversion of those who perpetrated this damnable deed."

The Mexican Cardinal also urged the authorities to ensure that “this heinous crime does not go unpunished."