The Bishop of Augsburg and President of the Commission for International Affairs of the German Bishops’ Conference, Monsignor Bertram Meier, expressed concern about the repressive escalation against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and the “undermining of human rights” in the country.
In a statement from the German Episcopal Conference, Monsignor Meier cited the case of Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, who has been under house arrest for more than two months. In addition, from other eight priests and two seminarians who in recent months were imprisoned by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
“You can no longer talk about democracy in Nicaragua when the president (Ortega) and his family dominate all public space,” Bishop Meier denounced in reference to the loss of democratic institutions in the country.
reden, wenn der Präsident und seine Familie den gesamten öffentlichen Raum dominieren.“ Bischof Meier betont: „Die #Repressionen durch das Ortega-Regime müssen bald ein Ende finden, es darf kein weiteres Blutvergießen oder gar einen Bürgerkrieg geben.” https://t.co/Czz4uGtuXe 2/2
— Deutsche Bischofskonferenz – offizieller Account (@dbk_online) October 27, 2022
In less than four years, the Nicaraguan Catholic Church has been the target of 190 attacks, including the fire in the Managua cathedral in August 2020, police harassment against bishops and priests, and the closure of a dozen radio and television channels that They belonged to the Catholic Church.
Last March, the then Apostolic Nuncio of Nicaragua, Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, he was expelled from the country, as were 18 Missionaries of Charity, of the order of Mother Teresa; in addition to a dozen Nicaraguan priests who have been exiled or forced to leave the country.
“This is how critics are intended to be silenced,” Monsignor Meier concluded, after a meeting of the International Affairs Commission of the German Episcopal Conference, held on October 26, which focused its attention on the situation in Nicaragua.
The bishop also expressed being impressed by “the courage of many Nicaraguans to face repression and advocate for the release of political prisoners and the restoration of the rule of law and civil liberties” in the country.
