After the announcement of the closure of Channel 51, Catholic Channel of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN), the auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, Monsignor Silvio José Báez, assured that the Church will continue to proclaim the Gospel.
The decision to censor the media outlet was informed by Claro, the same company that disclaimed responsibility and pointed out that the action came from the Nicaraguan Institute of Telecommunications and Post Office (Telcor).
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“Even if the dictatorship takes the Catholic Channel of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua off the air, everything will be useless. The Church will continue to proclaim the Gospel of hope and justice,” Báez wrote on his Twitter account.
For his part, Juan Diego Barberena, a member of the Political Council of the Blue and White National Unity (Unab), explained that the organization rejects and condemns the acts of the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, which, he assures, are not only against the Catholic Church as a institution; but against the religious freedom of all Nicaraguans.
“We have observed that on the part of those who hold power they see the Catholic Church as an enemy, that it has only done its pastoral work, that within its apostolate it has been to accompany those who suffer from state repression, condemn injustices and lift the voice for those who cannot raise it, “explained the opponent.
Barberena stated that the act that consummated the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship, of censorship of the Catholic Channel, violates the free profession of ideas, beliefs and faith of Nicaraguans that is provided for in the Political Constitution of the Republic and that “it also violates the freedom expression. Who gives a political connotation to this (the closure of Channel 51) in the group that holds power in Nicaragua?
“These actions only demonstrate each day more robust closure of spaces for dialogue, reflection, prayer of Nicaraguans and is one more example of the police state that remains in force in the parishes, which persecutes priests and censors the Catholic Church through its few means of communication”, he stressed.
This censorship against the Catholic Church occurred one day after the complaint made by Monsignor Rolando Álvarez of the police persecution that he was the victim of for a whole day. After that siege and intimidation, he announced the start of a day of indefinite fasting and prayer that he is carrying out in the Santo Cristo de Esquipulas parish in Las Colinas, in Managua.
