Six days before December 8, the date of the celebration of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, Pope Francis, the highest leader of the Catholic Church, addressed a pastoral letter “to the people of God who are pilgrims in Nicaragua.”
In the letter dated this Monday, December 2, the Supreme Pontiff reaffirms his affection for the Central American nation, which in recent years has faced increasing persecution of the Church.
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Nicaraguan Catholic leaders suffer attacks directed by the State that have led to arbitrary imprisonment, desecration, accusations of alleged money laundering, exile, plans to assassinate them, exile and even denationalization.
Francis highlighted the importance of faith and hope in difficult times, remembering that “the loving Providence of the Lord accompanies us and is the only sure guide. Precisely In the most difficult moments, where it becomes humanly impossible to understand what God wants from us, we are called to not doubt his care and mercy.».
In a context where the faithful have suffered reprisals for their devotion, the pope urged Nicaraguans not to doubt the care and mercy of God, stating that “the filial trust they have in Him and their fidelity to the Church are the two great lighthouses that illuminate their existence.
Francis He also emphasized the role of the Immaculate Virgin as a symbol of hope and consolation.
“Let’s look at the Immaculate Virgin, she is the luminous testimony of that trust,” he expressed, highlighting that Nicaraguans have experienced her maternal protection in times of need.
The pope’s letter comes at a critical moment for the Church in Nicaragua, where the political operators of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo have intensified the repression against their religious leaders and against those who call themselves Catholics.
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Despite this hostile context, the Pope Francis He encouraged the faithful to maintain their devotion, noting that “the Mother of God does not cease to intercede for you.”
The message concluded with a prayer for peace and hope, in which he asked that “the grace of the Jubilee may rekindle in us, Pilgrims of Hope, the longing for heavenly goods and spread throughout the world the joy and peace of our Redeemer”.
The data of the chase
The Nicaragua Never Again Human Rights Collective highlights that the repression of the dictatorship is demonstrated by the prohibition of congregations and the expulsion of its members such as the Capuchin Friars Minor, the Carmelite Sisters of the Divine Heart of Jesus, the Augustinian monks and nuns, the Missionaries Mercedarias de Bérriz, the Association of Trappist Sisters, and the Brothers of Charity.
The tyranny has stripped 35 religious people of their nationality. He has exiled 63 religious. Likewise, in recent months the organization has documented 14 cases of victims of arbitrary detention, seven lay people and seven religious, all victims of torture.
The defense organization has recorded the confiscation and illegalization of at least 1,200 religious NGOs, as well as media outlets related to Catholic and evangelical churches that have been closed and also confiscated.
