The president of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, charged insults on Tuesday against the Catholic Church, the Pope himself, and the priests, whom he blamed for being “a mafia” and for fixing “crimes.”
“I don’t believe in popes or kings. Who is the dad? How many votes does the Pope get among the Christian people? In other words, if they are going to talk about democracy they should first elect the priests of the town”, the president harangued in a public speech in homage to the 89th anniversary of the death of Augusto C. Sandino, a key figure for the ruling party.
“The people should elect cardinals and there should be a vote among the Catholic people everywhere so that the pope is also elected by direct vote, that the people decide and not the mafia that is organized in the Vatican,” Ortega added.
The president’s verbal attacks came nine days after Pope Francis expressed concern for Nicaraguan Bishop Rolando Álvarez, sentenced to 26 years in prison in an express impeachment trial, according to human rights organizations.
Álvarez was one of the political prisoners who refused to go to the United States with 222 other opponents, and a day later his trial was accelerated where the sentence was issued.
Ignorance and cynicism, says religious
The president’s speech was rejected by various social and religious sectors. The Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Managua, Silvio Báez wrote on Twitter: “How much ignorance, how much lies and how much cynicism! A dictator giving lessons in democracy; someone who exercises power illegitimately, criticizing the authority that Jesus granted to his Church; an atheist, corrupt and criminal, confessing inspired by Christ”.
Ortega’s crusade against the Church began after the 2018 protests, in which the president said that bishops and priests also united to try to carry out a coup against his government.
Connect with the Voice of America! Subscribe to our channel Youtube and activate notifications, or follow us on social networks: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
