The Cardinal of Nicaragua, Leopoldo Brenes, offered this Sunday a prayer crusade of the Holy Rosary for peace in the world, as well as for that of his country, which since 2018 has experienced its worst sociopolitical crisis in almost half a century.
“I invite you, that from this cathedral church, from this moment, we start a prayer campaign, pray the Holy Rosary for peace in the world, for peace in our country, for harmony, friendship, for the peace of our families and the peace of our hearts”, said the cardinal, in his Sunday mass, in the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, in Managua.
Nicaragua, a country where 58.5% of its 6.6 million inhabitants consider themselves Catholic, has not overcome the sociopolitical outbreak in which hundreds of people lost their lives four years ago, in protests against President Daniel Ortega, who has declared his support for his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, in the invasion of Ukraine.
In addition to the 355 deaths registered by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in the 2018 protests, the crisis in Nicaragua has driven more than 200,000 Nicaraguans into exile, according to data from the main recipient, Costa Rica, while 190 who remain in prison they are considered “political prisoners”, while there is a polarization between Sandinistas and non-Sandinistas.
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The crisis in Nicaragua has also touched the Catholic Church, which, according to the local Episcopate, suffers persecution, both due to physical attacks on the clergy and desecration of their temples, since the priests gave refuge to the protesters fleeing the armed attacks. of the government forces in 2018, and for which Ortega calls them “coup plotters”, while questioning the word of the religious and highlighting the works of his Government.
“If we listen to Jesus and then we are going to do the works, that work will be good, but if we do works without listening to Jesus we are going to fail because he will not have the strength,” Brenes said.
The cardinal also asked the Catholic faithful that, during the largest religious festival in Nicaragua, in honor of Santo Domingo de Guzmán, especially during the pilgrimages on August 1 and 10, believers walk “permanently praying the Holy Rosary.” , so that it is “the great gift” to give “to this people, to Nicaragua and to the world, and to Pope Francis.”
