Rogelio Cruz willing to talk; he says they distorted his call

SD. Father Rogelio Cruz said last night that he was willing to talk about his call for civil disobedience over the annulment of the law that declared Loma Miranda a National Park and which, he said, has been distorted by the "yellow press."

"Invite us, since we are willing to talk. We are in a process, there are channels. These channels can be exploited. What I want to make clear is that we cannot continue putting labels on things. Three cats. (A Dominican reference to three persons). And how money cats are in the presidential Palace? We're not in accordance with this thing. What they want to do is detract from a person, because that person has taken a posture in defense of my class, the downtrodden," he said after holding a meeting with the Deputy Chief of the National Police, general Alejandro Dipre Sierra, in the offices of the Diario Libre.

The cleric said he appreciated the preoccupation with his safety, but he said that this preoccupation is not going to limit his efforts. "They're not going to take me out of what I have decided, that is to be on the streets, until we find some light in the midst of so many shadows," he said.

It was confirmed that the conversations between Cruz and the National Police will continue in a future meeting. As he conversed with reporters from the area Libre after his meeting with general Dipre Sierra, he said that he is "at peace with everyone, not just with the Police," and he explain that his call to civil disobedience calls for the construction "of the channels so that the people can get rid of this uneasiness that was produced by this terrible news from Danilo Medina."

In order to to make his call clearer he used a similarly. "Civil disobedience is like suddenly you're walking down a street, and you're going in the wrong direction."

The danger is manipulation

Asked the question as to whether he fears that the movement in favor of declaring Loma Miranda a National Park could be manipulated by political interest, Cruz recognized it was a danger.

"This is the big danger. This is the most serious problem," he noted.

In the meantime, regarding the worry that this movement could break down in the face of the pressures, the priest pointed out that "a moment will be reached in which this will have to happen."

Nevertheless, he said that what is important is that "with the Loma Miranda and without Loma Miranda, these people have begun to wake up, which is what we want for the people to be conscious of this."

Regarding the support that he has from the Church, after the statements by Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez and Monsignor Agripino Nuñez Collado, he said "where are you going to find total support for a reality such as this? No place. Pope Francis who is the Pope Francis, has many problems there in the Vatican."

"Are you comparing yourself with Pope Francis?," asked reporter Annet Cardenas.

"No, no. Never. The Pope is a big leaguer, I'm a little mouse. (Laughter). Never compare me with Pope Francis, never never. But this is what is interesting, within the diversity unity is possible. And there are things that neither the Cardinal nor Agripino nor Rogelio can change. When you say "for this is my Body, all partake of it," this nobody has been able to change up until now. So I preferred to look for the things that join me at this time to everyone even within the Catholic Church."

And lastly, he issued a call to the people not to be afraid. "We have not issued a call to actions to distort the very essence of our country, of our national life, but rather what we are doing is calling on the people to had channels of expression, to express themselves, and to get rid of this profound sense of an easiness in the face of a decision that we did not expect in this case."

For tomorrow, they have announced the celebration of a concentration and La Vega in favor of Loma Miranda at 10:00 a.m., in the Duarte Plaza.