Mexico police deployed after sect blocks school

Mexican federal police stood guard outside a sect's village on Monday amid tension over the cult's week-long refusal to let 300 students attend a secular school. The community of Nueva Jerusalen, or New Jerusalem, is divided between a radical faction that objects to secular education and a minority who wants their children to receive the same education as millions of Mexican children. Seeking to cool tensions, officials in the western state of Michoacan proposed to bus the children to schools in neighboring towns, but parents rejected the offer. "We don't want our children to study in other towns. There are risks on the road," said Priscila Dominguez, a spokeswoman for the parents in favor of secular education. "And how long will the government pay for transport? One month for sure and then they forget about us," she added. Police vans arrived outside the town while some officers entered the community to talk with members of the community. Dozens stood outside the town's gate. "We discussed the problem, that's all," said Miguel Guerrero, commander of the operation. "We are awaiting orders. We'll stay a bit longer." Members of the sect, founded by a renegade Catholic priest in 1973, began blocking access to the school on August 20, when the Mexican school year started, sparking scuffles that left three people injured. Cult members destroyed two other schools in July after its "clairvoyant," Rosa Gomez, said the Virgin of the Rosary visited her and ordered their destruction because "the devil lives there." The sect says those who wish to study in New Jerusalem, a community of 4,000 people, must attend the parochial school. The Roman Catholic Church has disavowed the group. The cult's followers are not allowed to watch television, read newspapers, own mobile phones or practice sports. Women must cover their hair and cannot wear pants. Juan Carlos Tellez, a representative of the sect's hardliners, said the parents who favor secular schools "want to bring drugs, crime and prostitution here."