Based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew 5,17-37, where Jesus explained that “he did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them”, Monsignor Silvio Baez, Auxiliary Bishop of Managua, exhorted in his homily this Sunday, February 12, that “Jesus teaches us that to fulfill the fullness of the Law, the exterior is not enough, but we need to be attentive to the heart and watch the deepest intentions that they move us»
«We must purify the roots of evil and selfishness that we carry within, we must change internally. For Jesus, the fundamental thing is not to comply with a written rule, but to open ourselves to the Heavenly Father, who loves us infinitely, reciprocating his love with a love similar to his,” said the prelate from the Santa Agatha Church, in Miami, United States. .
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Referring to the Biblical commandment “you shall not kill”, the religious said that it is not necessary to deprive a person’s life with a firearm, but one can harm others” despising them, offending them, hurting with words, slandering, not respecting their dignity or attacking their freedom.
He added that he kills himself in the same way with offensive words that hurt, humiliate and poison coexistence. «A few years ago Pope Francis said: “When it is said of a person that he has a snake’s tongue, what does it mean? That his words kill. Therefore, not only must one not attempt the life of one’s neighbor, but one must not pour out the poison of anger on him or hit him with slander” (Francis, Angelus 02/16/2014).(….) Those who have snake tongues are murderers.”
He also pointed out that the silence of complicity is a way of killing. “In society, not denouncing injustice and keeping silent is a way of killing the hope of the people.”
They are criminals who imprison and cause banishment
Alluding to the political crisis that Nicaragua is experiencing and the repressive actions ordered by the Daniel Ortega regime, Báez said that “attacking people’s freedom, denigrating their dignity with falsehoods, using rage to humiliate them, treating them cruelly and condemning them unjustly , they are homicidal actions, —and those who do them— are authentic crimes».
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Also referring to the political prisoners in Nicaragua and the 222 ex-kidnapped by the Ortega dictatorship, the bishop emphasized that “they are criminals who take just people to jail and who banish the citizens of their own country.”
“These abominable acts are not just the whims of crazy people, legal irregularities or failure to comply with international norms. No. Offending with rage, slandering for revenge, unjustly imprisoning, viciously torturing and condemning to exile are real crimes and those who act in this way are criminals, who must appear before justice sooner or later, “he stressed.
“Tyrants have crossed the line of rationality”
On the other hand, the Catholic hierarch affirmed – alluding to the dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo – that societies are living “a historical moment in which violent and criminal tyrants have already crossed the line of what is rational and human. Let’s not fool ourselves. They are not showing themselves to be strong, they are showing their weakness and their fear.” Indian.
He added that “the violent have already lost, they always lose, because any victory obtained violently is equivalent to a defeat. Harming people, they harm themselves; condemning the innocent, they condemn themselves; stealing liberties from the people, they become the most unfortunate slaves».
Finally, Monsignor Báez recalled this Sunday’s speech by Pope Francis, who expressed being “deeply pained by the sentence to 26 years in prison against Monsignor Rolando Alvarez and the exile of 222 former political prisoners.
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«—Pope Francis—has assured us of his prayers for our country. May the words and prayer of the Holy Father encourage us and give us hope. The task is big. We should not get discouraged or feel weak. Let’s not get carried away by the aggressive instinct and revenge, let’s live the audacity of creativity to do good and support our brothers, urged Báez.
He also encouraged to continue denouncing with courage “the crimes of the tyrants; Let’s not shut up, there are silences that kill. Let us become factors of unity, promote dialogue and persevere in the fight for justice. In this way we will comply with the commandment “not to kill” and God will be on our side », he concluded.
