Despite the religious persecution that the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo maintains against Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, in Matagalpa, the Bishop of León, Monsignor René Sándigo, shouted “Who causes so much joy?” of the “Chiquita Screaming” in the atrium of the Leonese cathedral without any restriction. On Sunday, August 14, the people of León packed the streets to go from house to house wearing the traditional “cap” in devotion to the Virgin Mary.
Two days earlier, the same Bishop of León inaugurated, smiling along with the sanctioned mayor of the city, Róger Gurdián, a pedestrian promenade on the street east of the Basilica managed by Monsignor René Sándigo. To one side of where the ribbon was cut, a flag of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) was placed. This act was carried out when his brother in the faith had been held captive for more than a week in the Episcopal Curia of Matagalpa.
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Monsignor René Sándigo has been criticized for his closeness to the Nicaraguan dictatorship. He has been a participant in public acts of the Sandinista mayor’s office in León and has kept silent about the acts of violence that took place in the departments of Estelí, Madriz and Nueva Segovia, when he was bishop of the Diocese of Estelí.
While Monsignor Rolando Álvarez is confined to the Episcopal Curia of MatagalpaWithout being able to go out to carry out his pastoral work in the communities, Bishop Sándigo rubs shoulders with high-ranking officials of the dictatorship in León, can move freely and officiate masses in his cathedral.
The onslaught of the dictatorship against the Church also includes the imprisonment of three priests: Monsignor Leonardo Urbina, Father Manuel Salvador García and Father Óscar Benavidez, the latter was arrested yesterday, August 14, as confirmed by the Diocese of Siuna.
The regime also ordered the closure of a dozen Church and independent radio and television channels in its furious delirium to silence any glimmer of dissident voice that does not respond to the interests of the Ortega Murillo family.
