Returning to the book of Ecclesiasticus, Monsignor Silvio Jose Baez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, questioned those who are arrogant, haughty, incapable, weak and cruel, for which; they resist being humble and prefer the path of repression and imposition.
The hierarch, forced into exile due to the persecution unleashed against him by the Nicaraguan regime after the social protests of 2018, advocated putting down egos and urged humility, because that is how human beings show themselves to be “strong , worthy and great” instead of despot.
Related news: Monsignor Silvio Báez to the tyrants and powerful: “Don’t be fooled, no one is eternal, only God”
In his homily from the Santa Agatha Church, in Miami, United States, the prelate alluded to the dictatorial couple of Nicaragua, made up of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, whom he accused of having kidnapped the bishop of Matagalpa, whom he joined in prayer. “Free them! We cannot ask for less than that!” Said the priest, one of the most critical against the violence imposed by the State.
The bishop showed his closeness to Monsignor Rolando Alvarezwho “is deprived of his libertykidnapped, by the police of the dictatorship. I join him in his loneliness, in his pain; and I ask everyone to join him. A bishop is a successor of the apostles and together with him, I think of the priests, seminarians and laity of Matagalpa, who are in a torture prison of the dictatorship in Managua and for all the political prisoners. All this is unfair! All this is organized violence that we cannot accept or forget.
Monsignor Álvarez, bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, both in northern Nicaragua, was abducted early Friday, August 19, by police officers from the provincial episcopal palace along with four priests, two seminarians and a cameraman, after being confined for 15 days.
Báez, this August 28, emphasized the lack of humility of the dictators. “The history of our peoples demonstrates it with the arrogant dictators, who deify themselves and impose themselves with irrationality and violence. There are tyrants who not only want to be the first, but the only ones: the only ones who have a voice, the only ones who decide, the only ones who think », he criticized.
“This ancient biblical book recommends that those who have power learn to lower themselves, to make themselves small. Being small for a powerful person is knowing how to listen, having the courage to recognize one’s own mistakes, correct wrong decisions, listen to those who think differently and, with simplicity, give in, dialogue, correct what harms society and makes others suffer. the rest. If the person who exercises power thinks that giving in is a sign of weakness and that conceding something is losing, he shows that he is a social danger and that he has neither the capacity nor the right to exercise power », he stressed.
The bishop, who was accompanied in the celebration by the priest Edwing Román, also forced into exile; he reminded the powerful that “only God is powerful” and that only the “force of humility can change the world.”
Related news: Monsignor Báez, before the kidnapping of Monsignor Álvarez: «The dictatorship once again overcomes its diabolical spirit»
“Those who have power in our countries and the fanatical or interested people who support them should take advantage of the last drop of humanity that remains in their hearts to reflect, take responsibility for their crimes and begin to give in, restoring dignity to their peoples. and the freedom that has been stolen from them. It is never too late to prepare to welcome God through humility », he stressed.
The Church of Nicaragua resists one of the worst attacks directed by the Ortega regime. While they decided to kidnap Monsignor Álvarez from his house in Managua, those who accompanied the bishop during his detention in the Episcopal Curia of Matagalpa decided to imprison them in the “El Nuevo Chipote” torture prison.
The first and second vicar of the cathedral of San Pedro, of Matagalpa, are in prison, Jose Luis Diaz Y Sadiel Eugarrios, respectively; as well as the priests Oscar Scotus—parish priest of the Santa María de Guadalupe church—, Ramiro Tijerino—rector of the John Paul II University—and Father Raul Gonzalez. Seminarians Darvin Leyva and Melkin Sequeira were also inside the Curia, as was cameraman Sergio Cárdenas.
