Santa Muerte and Inculturation

I feel bad now, complaining about the public veneration of Origen.
I guess we could have added Muerte to the fabrication that replaces the Litany of the Saints in many parishes (mine included...)

But is it really a problem if immigrants bring along some of their authentic folk religion, grafted onto Catholicism?
And if Santa Muerte is a problem, surely we can drive her away by.... saging? (call up the Archdiocese of Los Angeles and ask where they get the ministers who do that for them.)
Or maybe beating those drums that drive out evil spirits? perhaps getting some nice "Celtic Christian" caster of spells....
Really having we gotten past that kind of religious triumphalism that thinks Christ is the only way?
http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1671984,00.html

Father Marco Mercado, of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Little Village, [Chicago, IL]visited a parishioner's home. As is common in Mexican residences, there was an altar with several Catholic saints. One statue, however, stood out: Santa Muerte. Father Mercado recalls telling the parishioner, "This is Santeria — it's not good! It's not at all connected with the Catholic faith." Many of Good Shepherd's roughly 3,000 parishioners have ignored Father Mercado's calls to destroy their Santa Muerte statues, candles and prayer cards, fearing that doing so will bring sudden death to themselves or family members. Now, he tells parishioners to bring Santa Muerte artifacts to the church. "I'll destroy it," he says.
Chicago church officials appear to be among the most aggressive in addressing the rise of Santa Muerte. Catholic officials in New York, Denver and Phoenix say they are unaware of Santa Muerte's increasing popularity in their communities. Father Oscar Cantu of Houston says he has watched botanicas and Santa Muerte gain popularity in his largely Mexican-American community, particularly among poor, uneducated immigrants. Father Cantu says he has made clear to his members that Santa Muerte is in conflict with the church's teaching. However, he says there has been little discussion about the topic among the broader church leadership. "It's probably time they receive some clarification that this is a distortion of our faith," he says, adding, "This poses a challenge for the church." (The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops hasn't issued an official position on Santa Muerte, partly because it is a relatively new phenomenon in this country.*)
Back on Chicago's 26th Street, an elderly woman is at a cart, slathering sliced mangoes with chili. Laura Martinez steps out of the botanica, into the evening's cool air. "I'm Catholic and Santa Muerte," she says, carrying a plastic bag with two candles and a prayer card. She says she doesn't go to church, partly because she's too busy, but also "because of everything you hear with priests," referring to the recent abuse cases. At home, she prays at an altar with a spot only for one saint: Santa Muerte. "She's jealous if there are any other saints around," she says, adding, "She brings me good luck. I got my job because of Santa Muerte!"

Snarking aside, let us pray for Fr Mercado

*If the USCCB as a whole were to issue anything, it would doubtless be couched in such Catholish, and such bending-over-backwards so as not to risk seeming disparaging to anyone's beliefs, regardless of his whack-job status, that it would be useless.
Get Serratelli on the case!