Christian World | Mexico's foreign minister ordered a passport issued to a Catholic priest photographed in clerical dress after he said a Mexico City office discriminated

ACW | November 7, 2026 — Mexico's foreign minister, Roberto Velasco, on Thursday ordered a passport issued to a Catholic priest with a photo in clerical dress, after the priest said a Mexico City passport office had discriminated against him.

Father Alberto Medel, a priest of the Archdiocese of Mexico, went to the Foreign Ministry's passport office in Coyoacán on Wednesday, Nov. 4, to renew his passport, EWTN News reported. A staff member told him he could not be photographed in clerical attire.

Medel said another official showed him a page of internal rules saying photos "containing religious symbols" were not allowed. "Today I was discriminated against, my human rights were violated and I was humiliated," he wrote on X, in ACW's translation from Spanish.

Velasco wrote on X the next day that he had instructed staff to retake the photo with the priest in his clerical dress and to issue the passport. He said religious freedom is "fully respected" at the ministry and that staff conduct and the internal rule would be reviewed, Infobae and EWTN News reported.

Medel told EWTN News his clerical dress "is not a uniform; it is my way of life," and said he did not need an apology. He has asked the ministry for a written commitment and an instruction to all its offices so it does not happen again, saying other priests and nuns have had similar experiences.

Background: Mexico's Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 11, 2025, in a case brought by Muslim women, that people may wear religious garments in passport photos as long as they do not hinder identification, according to EWTN News.

Why it matters: In that ruling, the Supreme Court said passport photo rules must be read consistently with freedom of religion or belief, EWTN News reported; the Coyoacán case shows the ruling is not yet applied in every government office.

ACW will continue to follow this story.

Sources: Roberto Velasco, Mexico's foreign minister — post on X; EWTN News — interview with Father Alberto Medel; Infobae — Mexican Foreign Ministry response

Photo: Father Alberto Medel (via EWTN News)