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Religion And Freedom

By Manny Martinez

There were many reasons why I wanted to go to Nicaragua; one of them was the question of religion. We often hear in the case of countries going through political turmoil—or, in Central America when there is a revolution—that the church is affected and religious people can no longer enjoy the kind of religious freedom guaranteed in the U.S. by our Constitution. Countries in Latin America tend to be very religious, and the religion is Roman Catholic, a heritage from Spain. Since the Sandinistas came to power in Nicaragua in 1979, U.W. news media and politicians have focused on the Church and said that Nicaragua is a Communist country where there is no religious freedom, where religious people are persecuted both because of their religion and because they want the country to return to democracy.

I served in the Navy from 1978-82. During those four years I visited many countries in Europe and North Africa. I am Puerto Rican and speak fluent Spanish. When VVAW was planning to send a political delegation to Nicaragua I was included because I speak Spanish and because having been to various countries gave me some authority to speak out on what I have seen and experienced as a Hispanic in the military and now in Nicaragua.

When I went to Nicaragua as past of the delegation that VVAW sent in order to show our support for the people of Nicaragua and their revolutionary struggle, and our solidarity with the Sandinistas, I saw also the opportunity for me to raise questions concerning the Church in Nicaragua and the propaganda raised against it here in the U.S.

We were in Nicaragua from April 12 to the 19th; on Sunday members of the delegation went to a Catholic Church in Managua, La Iglesia De Santa Maria De Los Angeles (also knows as the Church of the Peasants). The Church is fathered by Uriel Molina, a native of Nicaragua. Father Molina is himself in the center of a lot of controversy between himself and the Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo because of their different stands on the major political issues in Nicaragua. The Archbishop supports the revolution. In his message delivered on that Sunday, Father Molina criticized Reagan for trying to appear as a very religious person and as a spokesman for the Church in Nicaragua and as self-proclaimed defender of the faith and religion for the people of Nicaragua.

In the message Father Molina talked of Reagan and his TV presentation in March where the President accused the Sandinistas of persecuting the Church. He noted that in his speeches, Reagan always made allusions to God, religion, Christianity and the Holy Father, and that he even ended many of them with the traditional "God Bless You" of the men and women of the Church. Yet his acts are far from Christian.

During the week we visited with many groups. We went to hospitals and orphan ages and I could see how the Church has played a big role: it is very much as part of their lives for the people of Nicaragua. They still attend church; they still meet to hold Bible study. They Church plays a big role in one orphanage we visited just outside of Managua; the orphanage is filled with kids without families because of the war with the Contras, or because the mother is alone and can no longer care for a little one. The priest who runs the orphanage has instructed the children in religion. From what I could see and from the people I talked to, I cannot say there is no freedom of religion in Nicaragua. We are led to believe differently so we will see Nicaragua as the Reagan Administration wants us to see Nicaragua—as a Communist cancer that must be stopped before it spreads.

There are only good things I can say about the people of Nicaragua and their desire to be left along to determine their course. I want to thank those who made it possible for me to go to Nicaragua and to be a part of a struggle to see Nicaragua libre.

Manny Martinez
VVAW Chicago