The story of a supposed “Satanic Church” being built in Sosua on the North Coast, which appeared in several newspapers, has turned out to be the fabrication of an angry ex-employee of a veterinarian from the United States. According to the magazines “Rumbo” and “Sucesos”, the original story which appeared in the Sosua weekly “El Vocero” reported that an unidentified “gringa” had come to the Dominican Republic to explore the possibility of establishing a Satanic Church. The article apparently was the product of a conversation between a journalist from “El Vocero” and the disgruntled ex-employee, who claimed that his former employer routinely buried sacrificed dogs in his backyard. The established papers based in Santo Domingo, especially the Listin Diario, picked up on the story, dedicating its front page headlines to the Satanic Church and publishing quotes from the Director of Immigration, Cardinal Nicolas Lopez de Rodriguez, and the National Attorney General, all of whom made blistering attacks on any such church. After the story was properly investigated, it was revealed that the veterinarian in question was a Christian who had worked for the United Nations and later retired to Sosua. He had no plans to establish any church and did not bury animals on his property.
15-21 March 1996