wfn.org | Questions Abound Following Death

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

17-September-1997 
97366 
 
    Questions Abound Following Death of 
    Puerto Rican Pastor 
 
    by Alexa Smith 
 
LOUISVILLE, Ky.--Police are investigating the mysterious death of a young 
Presbyterian minister in Puerto Rico and his presbytery has issued a 
pastoral letter urging other clergy to take safety precautions when they 
are working in high-risk areas. 
 
    The body of the Rev. Danny J. Vlez Ortiz, 38, of Hormigueros, Puerto 
Rico, was found in an alley frequented by drug users in one of the poorer 
areas of the city of Mayag
ez in early August.  Reportedly a former drug 
abuser, Vlez was counseling addicts to get into rehabilitation.  There 
were needle marks on Vlez' arms, as well as abrasions on his back, 
indicating that Vlez may have been dragged into the alley after he died. 
 
    Initially identifying the death as a suicide, police now say they are 
awaiting additional forensic reports to determine whether the case is a 
suicide or a murder. 
 
    "We have so many questions," said the Rev. Jos R. Col"n Rodriguez, the 
executive of Southwest Presbytery, where Vlez' rapidly growing 
congregation is located and where frustrated pastors and congregants are 
waiting for final reports that may clarify what happened to Vlez and why. 
    "There are just so many hypotheses in regard to this case," said Col"n. 
"Why was he killed?  We don't have the answer. ... And we can't go one step 
further because there's no evidence." 
 
    Detective Juan Gonzalez Delvelle of the Mayag
ez Police Department told 
the Presbyterian News Service it will be two weeks or more before tests 
determine what substance killed Vlez.  He said the tests will indicate 
whether Vlez was again using drugs regularly, as some allege, or whether 
he died because he was deliberately injected with an overdose. 
 
    A city with a growing drug problem, Mayag
ez sees at least four to five 
deaths monthly that are classified as retribution by drug dealers on those 
who are harming business, according to local police.  The media in Puerto 
Rico estimates that approximately 15,000 individuals are involved in 
narcotics sales. 
 
    The presbytery's pastoral letter went out to seminarians, clergy and 
commissioned lay preachers, instructing them to take more precautions when 
working in high-risk populations, including not going into what some call 
"hot areas" alone.  The letter urges ministers to identify themselves to 
police, to dress as clergy and to keep records of their work, cautioning, 
"It will be your voice if something happens." 
 
    Vlez reportedly disappeared after leaving home for a counseling 
session and allegedly did not officially inform the session of the Valle 
Hermoso Church about the extent of his work with addicts.  Hormigueros is a 
district within Mayag
ez where the church was located. 
 
    Colleagues in Southwest Presbytery say that Vlez was not an active 
drug user. 
 
    Col"n said several clergy in the presbytery are working with drug users 
-- and one of those ministers has been threatened before.  "Drug abuse in 
this area," he said, describing the western part of the island, miles from 
the metropolitan area of San Juan, "is more visible than before."  Some 
clergy are frightened that dealers are sending a powerful message with 
Vlez' death to others who might attempt to meddle in their industry. 
Col"n said some wonder if Vlez wasn't mistaken for a police informant, 
since he frequented areas where narcotics were sold.  But, Col"n added, the 
death could also be totally unrelated to Vlez' work. 
 
    "There are," he said, talking about the uneasy climate, "so many 
hypotheses." 
 
    Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) associate for men's ministry Curtis Miller 
visited the congregation and said Vlez' death has "left such a hole," not 
just within the church but in the community.  "It's hard to begin healing 
when there are so many unresolved questions.  They're going to be hurting 
and broken for a long time -- until they have some answers for themselves. 
 ... 
 
    "The congregation deeply cared for their pastor. ..." 
 
    According to Synod of Puerto Rico executive the Rev. Harry  F. del 
Valle, the Valle Hermoso congregation doubled in size during Vlez' short 
time there.  He was ordained last February and was a 1995 graduate of 
McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago.  Vlez worked with addicts and 
with gangs during his time in Chicago and also in New York City, according 
to del Valle. 
 
    "He was a good friend and he did a wonderful job here at the church," 
said the Rev. Jos Mu$iz of the Vida Nueva Presbyterian Church in Chicago, 
where Vlez served as a seminary student.  "The congregation [here] is also 
affected by this news. ... The whole family was with us for two years." 
 
    Vlez is survived by his wife, Ruthie, and three children. 

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