Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes ruled out this Sunday that the Catholic Church negotiates with the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo on the situation of religious prisoners. Furthermore, he stated that Pope Francis is “super informed” about what is happening in Nicaragua.
“We know that the darkest cave, the darkest tunnel, at the end, always has a ray of light and that is our hope,” said Brenes, archbishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, in an interview with the Efe agency after the Eucharist in the Metropolitan Cathedral.
In recent months, the Ortega and Murillo regime has undertaken a series of repressive acts against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, leaving so far: seven priests, two seminarians and one layman imprisoned, 18 religious taken out of the country, a bishop under house arrest and the closure of a dozen religious media. In addition, the Sandinista government expelled the apostolic nuncio Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag from the country.
The Police have also entered by force and raided a parish, prevented parishioners from receiving the Eucharist inside the temple and besieged other priests in their churches, among others.
“We are men of dialogue, the Church is not one of confrontation, but the Church is one of dialogue. The Holy Father has pointed it out, the Episcopal Conference has pointed it out many times that all confrontational situations lead to nothing, because violence begets violence and an action brings a reaction”, he added.
He argued that pastors are strengthened by prayer and that they are certain of having the support of their people, who “continue to pray both nationally and internationally.”
Bishop Álvarez “is fine”
About the bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Rolando José Álvarez, a critic of the Ortega government and who this Sunday he served 17 days under house arrest in Managuawithout charges being filed so far, Brenes stated that, despite these conditions, they are fine.
“I have been talking with him (…) He told me that he is very well about his health. I found him in better spirits. I had a good time talking with him. And he asks us to continue praying for him and hopefully, the Holy Spirit will enlighten us so that we can soon solve this conflict, “she said.
Brenes explained that Bishop Álvarez “is being well cared for. His family goes twice a day to visit him. In the morning and in the afternoon”, and that “his cousin, who was the one who took care of his house, cleaned and cooked for him the days she was in Managua, she continues to cook for him”, he indicated.
In the case of other religious who are in prisonCardinal Brenes reported that they have been visited by the president of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua and bishop of the diocese of Jinotega (north), Carlos Enrique Herrera, and that “steps were made so that the families could be with them.”
“Last Wednesday the relatives went to be with them for a period of two to three hours,” he said.
The priests Ramiro Tijerino, José Luis Díaz, Sadiel Eugarrios and Raúl González; the seminarians Darvin Leyva and Melkin Sequeira, and the cameraman Sergio Cárdenas, are imprisoned in the cells of El Chipote.
Asked about the possibility that the religious be transferred to their homes, Brenes said that “at this time it has not” been possible, but “all the steps are being taken” and they are going “little by little.”
The pope “is super informed”
“The pope is super informed. The (Vatican) State Secretariat is well informed, so I personally laugh” when they say no, Brenes said.
The high hierarch described as “very sad” that Pope Francis is criticized because supposedly “he does not know anything, that he is uninformed” about what is happening in Nicaragua, mainly with the Catholic Church.
“That is the worst lie that sometimes some media outlets, I don’t know with (what) interests, and some personalities, with what interests, are doing that,” he reproached.
Brenes assured that Pope Francis is praying for the Nicaraguan Catholic Church, as are the bishops who make up the Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (Celam).
Relations between the Sandinistas and the Nicaraguan Catholic Church have been marked by friction and mistrust in the last 43 years. The arrest of Bishop Álvarez and the seven priests is the most recent chapter in a particularly convulsive last year for the Catholic Church of Nicaragua with the Government of Ortega, who has branded the leaders as “coup plotters” and “terrorists.”
The Catholic community represents 58.5% of the 6.6 million inhabitants of Nicaragua, according to the latest national census.
