Residents of the indigenous neighborhood of Monimbó declared themselves upset by the hostile attitude maintained by the Nicaraguan regime to prohibit the massive activities of the Catholic Church, mainly those that were scheduled to take place in this area, such as the judeas and the procession of San Lázaro, as is traditional on a Sunday before the start of Holy Week.
«People come with their puppies and other kinds of animals to the activity of the church, to participate in the holy mass and receive the blessing of the priest, then participate in the procession, where in many homes we wait for the visit or pass of the saint down our street. It is something traditional for many years, but the intolerance of the police is inexplicable,” said “Ana”, a resident of the Monimbó neighborhood.
Another from Monimbo, who requested anonymity to speak and who always participates in religious activities, lamented the dictatorship’s decision to ban the procession of San Lázaro, scheduled for this coming Sunday, March 26. “It is a right that the Catholic people of Masaya have to profess their faith,” he claimed.
An expression born of the people
The resident did not hesitate to affirm that these prohibitions on Catholic activities and the persecution of their religious leaders is nothing more than revenge for supporting the people in the struggles for their claims, especially when Monimbó rose up.
“But these abuses have to end and they should not be provoking the Monimbo people. We hope that there will be no more conflicts, although the Sandinista mayor’s office is promoting the massive activities of his party. The truth is that these prohibitions border on the ridiculous and it is double standards, because Rosario Murillo daily speaks of love and peace, and people are not allowed to profess her faith in peace, “questioned the parishioner.
A promise from the Masaya Catholic Church explained that the festivities of San Lázaro is an expression of popular religiosity “that was born from the heart of the people”, in which there is a union between ancient indigenous beliefs and Catholic evangelization.
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«There is a special relationship between dogs and our indigenous culture, especially in the indigenous enclave of Monimbó where this festivity is still manifested. And there is a link between these festivities and the Catholic faith. The saint to which they refer is the Lazarus of a parable in which Jesus distinguishes between the rich Dives and the poor Lazarus to whom the dogs appear licking his sores”, indicated the religious.
“rude dictatorship”
He stressed that the Sandinista government intends to separate the festivities from the Catholic faith, by organizing its own festivities with purely tourist motives, which becomes “a gross official manipulation.”
“This is a rude form of the Ortega dictatorship of wanting to appropriate Catholic symbols, and it is not only doing it with the festival of San Lázaro, but also with the pilgrim carts, in which they manipulate people who have centuries-old roots. pilgrimage to Popoyuapa,” said another Catholic source.
The source made it clear that a state should not try to conceive of its own religion because it is secular. In addition, he assured that people who go with mercy will celebrate this Sunday inside the María Magdalena de Monimbó temple, “but what the Nicaraguan government will do outside this church is a rude, vulgar, guaranga manipulation.” he said, paraphrasing what Pope Francis recently said about the Ortega dictatorship.
By: United Voices
