A Protestant pastor was arrested by local authorities and then run out of his hometown after he refused to kneel down and pray before a statue of a Roman Catholic saint.
Mariano Velásquez Martínez is the pastor of Iglesia Camino Nuevo y Vivo, a Protestant church in Santiago Malacatepec, Mexico. Despite being surrounded by a majority Roman Catholic community, he was asked to take on the role of “mayordomo” for an upcoming festival—one of several people assigned to the task.
Martínez accepted with the understanding that his involvement would be limited to providing flowers and candles for the event.
During the January 15 festival, however, things went sideways. According to watchdog organization CSW:
Pastor Velásquez Martínez was ordered by a fellow mayordomo to light candles, kneel and pray to the image of Saint James the Apostle.
The pastor reminded him that this was not part of the agreement on account of his religious beliefs, however the second mayordomo complained to the village leadershipIgnoring the terms of the original agreement, the local authorities detained Pastor Velásquez Martínez for five days. On 17 January he was bound with a rope and taken before an assembly of about 180 men where an announcement was made by the village authorities that he was to be expelled.
The pastor was forced to sign a piece of paper, forcibly displacing him from the community. He was not provided with a copy and fears it will be used to fabricate the story that he left the community voluntarily. The pastor, his wife and three-month-old baby are now residing temporarily with relatives in Oaxaca City.
