Nicaragua Detains Priests, Bishop In Crackdown

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

MANAGUA (Worthy News) – Concerns remained Thursday about the whereabouts of more than a dozen priests, seminarians, and a bishop who have been detained in recent days as part of a crackdown on the Catholic Church by the government of President Daniel Ortega.

The latest priest known to be arrested was Gustavo Sandino, a priest of the Diocese of Jinotega, church officials said. He was reportedly detained following Mass on New Year’s Eve.

In Managua, the capital, Fernando Téllez Báez, priest of Our Lady of the Americas church, was reportedly taken in the early hours a day earlier.

Another priest, identified as Jader Hernández of the Mother of the Divine Shepherd, was detained late December 30, church sources said.

At least 14 priests have been arrested in recent days, as well as two seminarians, Alester Saenz and Tony Palacio, and the Bishop Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega of Siuna, the Vatican said.

The bishop was arrested after offering prayers for fellow Bishop Rolando José Álvarez Lagos of Matagalpa and the Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Estelí. He was sentenced to 26 years in prison “without due process” on trumped-up charges of “undermining national integrity” and “spreading false news,” church officials said.

During Mass in the Cathedral on New Year’s Eve, the Cardinal Archbishop of Managua, Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, expressed his closeness “to the families and communities who are without their priests at this time,” calling on everyone to remain “strongly” united in prayer.

UNITY IS STRENGTH

“Ecclesial unity is our strength,” he said in remarks monitored by Worthy News.

As the crackdown continued, scheduled Masses in some churches of the heavily Catholic Central American nation were not celebrated, and the faithful were asked to go home, Worthy News learned.

It was not immediately known whether the priests in these parishes were arrested.

President Ortega, the longest-serving leader in the Americas, began repressing the Catholic Church after national demonstrations against his perceived authoritarian rule in 2018.

“I am following with concern what is happening in Nicaragua, where bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom,’ Pope Francis said in his weekly Sunday message and blessing in St. Peter’s Square.

“I express my closeness in prayer to them, their families, and the entire church in Nicaragua … I hope the path of dialogue can be followed to overcome difficulties.”

While his supporters view him as a true patriot, his critics say he has become “a corrupt and authoritarian ruler,” turning his back on revolutionary ideals as the leader of Nicaragua’s left-wing Sandinista revolution.

CHRISTIANS IMPACTED

While about 50 percent of Nicaragua’s population identifies as Catholic, the policies also impact other Christians, including evangelicals, who comprise 33 percent of the Central American nation’s 6.4 million people, Worthy News learned.

“Churches in Nicaragua that speak out against injustice and human rights violations by the government are viewed as destabilizing agents,” noticed Christian advocacy group Open Doors.

“This makes them a target for hostility, which can include intimidation, harassment, monitoring, arrests, and even attacks,” the group explained.

The government “is particularly hostile to churches that provided shelter and care for people during the widespread protests which broke out against the country’s dictatorial regime in 2018”, according to Open Doors researchers.

“To this day, these churches are still experiencing retribution from the government, including slander and surveillance,” Open Doors added.

“Given the government’s widespread totalitarian control, persecution affects Christians throughout Nicaragua.”

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