Last week the news media reported that an undetermined number of U.S., French and Canadian citizens have been traveling to and from Puerto Plata, exploring the possibilities of starting a “Satanic church” in the tourist-filled community of Sosua. The news has caused reactions from several prominent legal and religious authorities throughout the D.R., the great majority of which object strongly to such a church. After saying a Mass on Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent, the country’s Cardinal, Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, called on the citizens and authorities of Puerto Plata to reject any organization dedicated to the worship of Satan. The National Attorney General, Dr. Luis Nelson Pantaleon Gonzalez, warned that the “authorities of public order will be forced to intervene if the ‘Satanic church’ is established and public morals and customs of the Dominican people are contravened.” The Director of Immigration, Vitelio Mejia Ortiz, promised to act drastically against anyone who tries to carry out such “an absurd idea” as that of establishing a church dedicated to Satan.
The Attorney General of Santo Domingo, Dr. Ramon Pina Acevedo, argues that as repulsive as the idea of the worshipping of Satan might be for the community of Puerto Plata, those interested in establishing the church have every right to do so under the law.
Even if the church has legal protection, it is likely to fall under heavy opposition from almost every important sector in the D.R. which, as most Latin American nations, is officially a Catholic country.
1-7 March 1996