Based on the Gospel according to Saint John, which tells the story of the resurrection of Lazarus, Monsignor Silvio Baez said in his homily this Sunday from the Santa Agatha Church, in Miami, United States, that in the same way the bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Rolando Alvarez “He is in the sepulcher of a prison.”
«Just as there was a friend of Jesus in Bethany who was in the tomb, today also another friend of Jesus is in the tomb of a prison. It is my brother bishop, Msgr. Rolando José Álvarez Lagos (…) a friend of Jesus who has been locked up in a tomb,” said the auxiliary bishop of Managua.
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Exemplifying the call that Jesus made to Lázaro to come out of the tomb, Báez affirmed that also to Monsignor Álvarez “Jesus says to him: come out, Rolando, and live, leave prison and go back to being pastor of my people.”
“I will get you out of that grave. The cynicism, lies and malice of your captors will not be able to hold you any longer. I will get you out through the greatness of your faith, the incessant prayer of your people and the solidarity of the whole world that cries out for your freedom,” added the prelate.
The priest affirmed that today God says to Álvarez, “my son, my servant, pastor, my prophet, very soon I will get you out of that tomb, because I have cried with you and I can no longer bear to see my friend deprived of his freedom, of their dignity and their mission in the Church. “Rolando, come out!”
To the Ortega regime: “Remove the stone”
Referring to the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega that since August 4, 2022 has kept the Bishop of Matagalpa deprived of liberty, Báez said that “to those who have locked up and wanted to turn off Rolando’s voice, Jesus tells them as he told the Jews in front of the tomb of Lazarus: “Remove the stone!” (Jn 11,39), “untie him and let him walk” (Jn 11,44). Don’t be fooled.”
«You are the true prisoners of evil and lies, ambition and cruelty. Remove the stone from the jail and release the bishop,” the priest demanded.
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In turn, he pointed out that the regime of Ortega and Murillo, “which feed on violence and deceive themselves with cynicism, will not be able to go against the nobility and dignity of the bishop – Álvarez -, the prayer of the people of God and the worldwide clamor for his release”.
To the exiles: Do not accept being buried in an artificial normality
Regarding the repression and exile suffered by dozens of people because of the tyrants, the bishop expressed that “God also says it today to the oppressed and exiled peoples: I will open their graves and I will take them out! They will not remain locked up and fearful of the cynicism, threats and weapons of the powerful”.
He also urged them not to accept “being buried in an artificial normality created by repression, do not remain in the tomb of silence paralyzed by fear, do not accept the tomb that kills the future and leaves everything in the hands of tyrants.”
«Today God says to our oppressed, fearful or exiled people —Nicaragua—: My people, come out. Let yourself be taken by my hand and fight without getting tired. Your vocation is freedom; your life is made for love and solidarity; Your most beautiful dream is peace based on justice,” Báez stressed.
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He stressed that the people who have been struck down by the repression must continue dreaming and fighting. «My people, you are not alone, I take you by the hand so that you can rise again after being crucified. Trust and keep fighting. There is a future, there is hope. Trust in me, says the Lord, but also trust in yourselves.”
The words of Monsignor Silvio Báez echo after the Ortega regime exhibited Bishop Rolando Álvarez on Saturday, March 25, after more than a month of preventing his relatives from visiting him in the Jorge Navarro Penitentiary System, known as “La Modelo”. » in Tipitapa, where they are forcing him to pay a sentence of 26 years in prison for alleged conspiracy against the homeland.
