He Pope Franciswho had not spoken out regarding the recent kidnappings and exile of a group of nine priests from the Dioceses of Matagalpa, Chontales and Estelí in Nicaragua by the dictatorship of Ortega and Murilloencouraged the “beloved” people of Nicaragua this Sunday to renew their “hope” in Jesus Christ.
“To the beloved people of Nicaragua, I encourage you to renew your hope in Jesus, remember that the Holy Spirit always guides history towards higher projects,” said the leader of the Catholic Church during the Sunday Angelus at the Cathedral of San Pedro in the Vatican.
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During the prayer, Francisco He asked “that the Immaculate Virgin protect them in times of trial and make them feel her maternal tenderness. May the Virgin accompany the beloved people of Nicaragua.”
Persecution by the Ortega regime
Since 2018, the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has promoted attacks, kidnappings, imprisonments and exile of bishops, priests, seminarians, religious congregations and lay people linked to the Church. The repressive acts that have regained greater international relevance are those of bishops Silvio Báez and Rolando Álvarez, who have been strong critics of the government and in response have been banished and denationalized by the Sandinistas.
So far there are 245 religious who have been forced into exile or have been expelled from NicaraguaOf these, 150 are priests and 40 of them were sent to the Vatican in four groups in less than a year, without Pope Francis having yet directly commented on the issue of exile.
The Archbishop of Managua and Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes Nor has he commented on these attacks, in what appears to be a pact of silence or prudence imposed by the Vatican.
