The former major league player Dennis Martinez expressed solidarity and admiration for Monsignor Roland Alvarez, who since August 4 has been locked up in the Episcopal Curia of Matagalpa, after being besieged by Daniel Ortega’s Police, who has imposed a de facto prison on him, accusing him of “creating anxiety.”
Through an opinion article published this August 8 in the newspaper La Prensa, the former big leaguer Nicaraguan said that when he decided to write the letter to the priest, he confessed that he cried, “I shed my tears when I helplessly saw how the organs of the State were used to repress Catholics who wanted to congregate.”
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In reference to the regime of Daniel Ortega, who has ordered the Police to surround the Curia where the bishop of Matagalpa is, the winner of the “perfect game” affirms that he cried “of frustration when he saw how a threat from the circle of power was executed towards you ( Monsignor Álvarez), preventing him from leaving his house, I cried for my inability to do anything to help him from a distance».
“But I also cried with pride because in the midst of the storm you were experiencing, you knelt alone before God, I cried with admiration for your courage, seeing exemplified the courage of a leader who does not hide in turbulent times. During the hurricane of bad things that the country is experiencing, speaking the truth is a sin and you are not afraid to bite the apple. Pope Francis already said it in his speech in Bolivia in 2015: “Behind so much pain and destruction you can smell the stench of the devil’s manure,” he added.
“You are guilty of creating anxiety for the devil”
Regarding the accusations made by the Ortega Police, the athlete and opponent emphasized that “you are guilty of organizing groups, but of studying God and the Virgin; host events for youth and call on crowds to respond to hate with love.”
“I would also say that he is guilty of creating anxiety for the devil, because as a good Christian he drags people to God, leads them on the right path and leaves the enemy without disciples. (…) I would change the word disturber of peace for seeker of peace, which is the great treasure lost in recent years in Nicaragua»he expressed.
Dennis Martínez stated that Monsignor Álvarez has reflected “the importance of not seeing party or color, but rather one’s neighbor as oneself and praying for them. You blessed everyone, even though —policemen— they are causing harm. One thing is to say it and another is to proclaim it in the street. We Catholics see his model and strength of spirit.
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“Nicaragua has become a hostile land for the truth, but I also understand and believe that God is not mistaken in his plans when he sends his best soldiers in one of his many battles in the great war between good and evil. They may surround him with police and prevent him from leaving, but his voice transcends borders », concluded the athlete.
The bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa is together with five priests and six lay people locked up in the Episcopal Curia. The religious has called on the Nicaraguan people “not to leave him alone” and to keep his prayer for Nicaragua.
