Monsignor Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, considered that the recent statements by Pope Francis regarding the Nicaraguan regime, whom he described as “unbalanced”, is a concept that he has always had towards the dictators Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.
During an interview with Infobae, Pope Francis raised the tone of his criticism of the Nicaraguan regime, comparing his way of governing with the dictatorship of Adolf Hitler or the communist tyrannies of the 20th century.
Related news: Pope Francis sees an “imbalance” in Daniel Ortega
“With great respect, I have no choice but to think about an imbalance in the person who leads,” said the pope in an interview with Infobae.
Following these statements, Báez said through his Twitter account that the Nicaraguan dictatorship “proaches itself to quote, greet and congratulate Pope Francis —but— today he has told them what they are: a dictatorship of unbalanced, vulgar and anachronistic , in the Hitlerian and communist style».
The hierarch said he believes that it is not the first time that the Supreme Pontiff sees the dictators of Nicaragua in this way, and added that “it is not too late to say it,” alluding to the silence that the Church has maintained regarding the crisis and religious persecution. that the country suffers.
For their part, opposition groups in Nicaragua valued Pope Francis’ statements regarding the socio-political crisis the country is experiencing as a “support” for a people who resent the religious persecution to which the Daniel Ortega dictatorship has subjected them.
Related news: Opponents assume words of Pope Francis as a “support” to the people of Nicaragua
The sociologist and member of the Nicaraguan University Alliance (AUN), Douglas Castro Quezada, pointed out that the words of His Holiness “are a boost for Nicaragua, and they are appropriate, because they come after the cruelty against Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, the prohibition of activities of the Church for Holy Week and the recent cancellation of Catholic universities.
In the same interview, Francisco dedicated words of praise to the Bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who has been sentenced to 26 years in prison for one month for the alleged crimes of treason and dissemination of fake news against Orteguismo. .
“There we have a bishop in prison, a very serious man, very capable. He wanted to give his testimony and did not accept exile,” the pontiff said about Monsignor Álvarez.
The persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has intensified since 2018, after the failed attempt at dialogue between the Ortega dictatorship and the opposition, describing it as a diabolical and coup organization.
