Mexican church officials have condemned an arson attack on a casino in Monterrey, Mexico, which killed more than 50 gamblers and employees and left the nation horrified as a city once considered a crown jewel of industrial development and progress descends deeper into organized crime violence.

"In terms of the criminal groups, we believed that we had seen everything.

However, what happened today surprised us," said Cardinal Francisco Robles Ortega of Monterrey in a message issued late Aug. 25.

"Hopefully our authorities surprise us with a definite solution to this serious scourge."

Attackers burst into the Casino Royale in Monterrey Aug. 25, doused the premises with gasoline and torched the building, trapping patrons and employees.