Catholicism, however, has lost ground in the country; with evangelicals accounting for about a third of the population in 2020, according to Statista. Submit news to our tip line. Staff in both embassies had been down to barebones for years with only a charg d'affaires for the Vatican in Managua and almost no one for Nicaragua in Rome. Amid political unrest that led to 300 deaths and more than 2,000 injured people, several nongovernmental organizations, students and academic workers created the Civic Alliance for Justice and Democracy. Victor J. UNITED NATIONS (OSV News) Nicaragua's assaults on Catholic and other educational institutions, its stripping political opponents of citizenship, and its arrest of political opponents must stop, said Human Rights Watch's acting executive director, Tirana Hassan. The United States continues to call on the Ortega-Murillo regime to respect the human rights of Nicaraguans, including their rights to freedom of expression and religion or belief. The official cancellation asserted that the Caritas members decided to close down: On January 31 of the year two thousand and twenty-three, through Act No. Have a news tip? The bishop was also stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenship, leaving him stateless. In Latin America, street protests can quickly oust a government. In 2020 there were 40 attacks against the Church, including desecrations and the firebomb attack on the Managua Cathedral, which damaged Blood of Christ Chapel. Telemundo's Dunia Elvir has more on. On Aug. 7, 1987, the Esquipulas II Peace Accord was signed in Guatemala to end the civil war in Nicaragua and achieve a "lasting peace" in Central America. 34. The universities, all of them private, were ordered to send all the information they had on record regarding students, professors, programs, study plans, and other details to the National Council of Universities immediately. The mass on Saturday . IE 11 is not supported. In the last five years, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has gone through more than 190 attacks and desecrations, including a fire in the Managua Cathedral,the expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity, theimprisonment of Bishop Rolando lvarez,the exile and stripping of the citizenship of more than 222 former political prisoners, priests, bishops, and seminarians included, the banning oftraditional public processions of the Way of the Cross in all parishes in the countryduring Lent and Easter, and the closure of seven universities two of them with ties to the Catholic Church, John Paul II Catholic University and the Autonomous Christian University. Premium users have access to full-length programs with limited commercials and receive a 10% discount in the store! Copyright Aleteia SAS all rights reserved. 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Our bureaus are located in Denver, Washington, and Rome. On Saturday, a large procession with the pilgrim statue of Our Lady of Fatima was to precede the closing Mass at the Managua cathedral for the Marian Congress titled Mary, Mother of Hope, but the regime prohibited the event. Mondays, October 17 to June 23, 2023 - 7:45 to 9. Some other religious figures have raised their voices through messages on Catholic radio stations, praying for peace and a cessation of injustices. The bishops conferences of Costa Rica and Panama expressed their solidarity with the people and Catholic clergy of Nicaragua, who have been suffering persecution from the government of President Daniel Ortega. What we are witnessing is an impressive setback for Nicaragua, Iiguez said. We stand with Nicaraguans in opposing these desperate attempts to silence an entire nation. All rights reserved.Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. Before April 2018 abuses of the Church were sporadic. But in an interview publishedon March 10 one month afterlvarez's sentencing Pope Francis called out Ortega as "unstable" and likened his Sandinista government to the communist dictatorship of 1917 and the Nazi Germany of 1935. Get briefed on today's top stories with Kim Tisor. However, the dialogue quickly broke down and the government has increased its attacks since. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is now being accused of detaining church leaders, canceling Catholic events, and shutting down religious radio stations. agree that your subscription will automatically renew monthly, quarterly or annually based upon your subscription Catholic leaders sheltered protesters in their . On Aug. 6, unidentified vandals stole the main switch to the cathedrals electrical control system, leaving the cathedral and surrounding grounds without power. Freedom of speech has deteriorated in the country as oppression intensifies. Events. A survey by the National Catholic Register newspaper found that of 137 dioceses that responded, 105 are offering some type of relief. The crackdown on the 2018 protests by police and government-affiliated paramilitaries left 355 people dead, more than 2,000 injured and 1,600 detained at various times, according to human rights organizations. Ortega accused Catholic figures who supported the opposition as an anit-government that wanted to overthrow him. The most comprehensive solution to manage all your complex and ever-expanding tax and compliance needs. Good is always more powerful. In 2019, 48 attacks took place, including death threats against the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Jos Bez Ortega, who that same year had to go into exile outside of Nicaragua. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. lvarez, who is considered Ortega's and Murillo's "most eminent prisoner" and a man whom the couple was "eager to get rid of. The church is in favor of justice, said the Rev. He has been under house arrest with his aides in the city of Matagalpa for nearly three months, a move that has been condemned by the Organization of American States, or OAS. The truth is that in years before President Ortega assumed power, these frontal attacks against the religious institution were not carried out, she points out. Out of fear of persecution, bishops and priests are relying on their peers who were forced into exile to share their stories. | Photo credit: San Judas Tadeo Mga Parish, No, Pope Francis didnt really hint that the requirement for priestly celibacy will be lifted, German bishops announce plans to bless same-sex unions, allow laypeople to baptize and preach at Mass, Signs of hope and renewal amid the dramatic decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland, The image of the Virgin Mary that wept tears of blood on St. Patricks Day, Cardinals Mller, Burke rebuke German bishops over same-sex union blessings. (File). In March, the Ortega-Murillo regime expelled the papal nuncio from Nicaragua; in June, it stripped the legal status from the community of nuns founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, forcing them to leave the country. Jagger repeated reports that the bishop said of the over 200 people being transported out of Nicaragua,"[L]et them go free;I will pay their sentences.". Bermdez said he was beaten, threatened, detained multiple times and forced into exile; he's now in California. The official government newspaper La Gaceta reported . Although "we cant affirm that all the mishaps compiled in this study have been planned and executed by the followers of Ortega-Murillo," Molinas investigation says, neither can one plead not guilty.". In a Facebook post, the Diocese of Siuna said that Benevidezs sole mission is and has been to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ who is the word of life and salvation for everyone and prayed for Marys intercession. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions. On the same day that the exiled Nicaraguans were transported to the United States, lvarez was transferred to La Modelo prison, which Jagger says is considered "one of the most brutal in Latin America.". Those who were once Daniel Ortegas allies are now his enemies.". ", She citesthe statement issued by Honduran Bp. View all News. The Roman Catholic priest became actively invested in the demonstrations in 2018, providing help to the injured and support to the families of those who were killed. At least 355 people were killed, about 2,000 injuredand 1,600 jailed,according to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. When there is unjust persecution, when silence is imposed, when all freedoms are taken away, he said, it becomes a total social crime., Academic and legal scholar Mara Asuncin Moreno is a member of the alliance and was part of the national dialogue. In one ofhis last known homilies, lvareztold the people of Nicaragua to take heart: Evil is defeated by the power of good. VATICAN CITY, March 12 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has ordered the closure of the Vatican Embassy in Managua and that of the Nicaraguan Embassy to the Vatican in Rome, a senior Vatican source said on Sunday. Nicaraguans have turned to social media to denounce the government's repression against church leaders. On May 20, he published a video on Facebook saying that he had been chased during the day by the national police. "Bishop lvarez Lagos, following in the footsteps of Jesus Christ, is 'the good shepherd who will lay down his life for his sheep,'"Jagger asserts. Before being confined to his house on August 4 and prevented from celebrating mass in church, Bishop Alvarez had condemned the regime for violations of freedom of expression, including closing several Catholic and other independent radio stations. It's important that the international community act to protect human rights in the country.. A bishop sprinkles water on the catholic parishioners at the Metropolitan Cathedral, as a suspension of diplomatic ties between Nicaragua and the Vatican has been proposed according to a Nicaragua . Ke Huy Quan gives emotional speech after winning Oscar, Missouri sheriff, 2 deputies charged in alleged plot to kidnap to child, Minnesota power plant leaks 400,000 gallons of radioactive water, New TikTok college drinking trend raises alarms, Ozempic shortage pushes some to use knockoff drugs. So far in 2022, 21 attacks have already been recorded, including the police harassing in May the bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Jos lvarez, who is also the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Estel. There are multiple accounts of masked men breaking into churches, theft or destruction of religious objects, and the prohibition of religious processions. The silencing of dissenting voices in Nicaraguadirectly targets the Catholic Church yet again. In 2021, amid allegations of fraud and the political persecution of rival presidential candidates, Ortega was re-elected for the third time as president of Nicaragua. What we have seen is brave people that accompany their priests and do masses in the streets, she said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. The demonstrations began in the city of Len and spread throughout the country. The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, has ordered the closing of the Vatican embassy in Managua and the Nicaraguan embassy to the Holy See in Rome, according to Reuters.. ", The bishop, however, rejected the government's ultimatum of "exile or jail." . Hard-hitting news and analysis through an authentic Catholic lens. The Nicarguan president has called the bishops terrorists and devils in cassocks.. In less than four years, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has been the target of 190 attacks and desecrations, including a fire in the Managua Cathedral, as well as police harassment and. The Ortega regime increases its persecution of the Church. According to Martn Iiguez, a professor at the Iberoamerican University in Mexico City who has done extensive research on religion in Central America, religion played an important role in Ortegas rise to power during the Sandinista revolution, creating a divide inside the Nicaraguan church between those who believed in revolution through the use of armed conflict, and those who didnt. Caritas is the Churchs official aid organization, with local offices all over the world. Evil, by its demonic nature, always tries to confuse us by making us think that it's the one that wins and that it's greater than good, but this is a temptation from Satan to make us despair, to make men and women of goodwill despair. ET. 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