A Nicaraguan priest in exile, speaking on condition of anonymity, tells how he has experienced the religious persecution that the dictatorial regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo maintains in Nicaragua. The priest affirms that never in the history of the country has the Catholic Church been persecuted so fiercely for fulfilling its role as defender of the people.
“I represent a significant number of people, including bishops, priests, religious men and women and lay activists in the Catholic Church who have been exiled, besieged, persecuted, condemned to banishment, some of whom have been imprisoned in inhumane conditions, others have been deprived of their nationality and all their property confiscated,” says the priest.
For the priest, the cause of the persecution against the church is political and not religious. “Since 2018, the church has openly criticized any repression of civil liberties and violation of human rights in the country,” says the prelate, who claims that Ortega is afraid of the leadership of the churches and especially of the Catholic Church.
The Ortega-Murillo government has accused the Catholic Church of being part of a coup d’état orchestrated by the opposition and the United States, for not sympathizing with its ideological project, so the Sandinistas have ordered the detention, kidnapping and torture of lay people, sieges of temples and expulsion of opponents and religious figures.
Related news: Of the 135 exiled to Guatemala, 13 were lay people who were imprisoned for their relationship with the Catholic Church
The priest directly accuses Rosario Murillo of promoting hate speech against religious people and of closing down Catholic media outlets and charitable NGOs. Murillo, according to the exile, also seeks to instill a culture of fear and terror, creating panic in society with stories that she presents with false justifications.
“Nicaragua has visibly worsened and has been singled out by international media and personalities from around the world as a country in which the fundamental freedoms of its own citizens are repressed and restricted, thus violating every human right they have,” says the priest.
Prayer for Nicaragua
The Latin American Episcopal Council (CELAM) and the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Religious (CLAR) are holding an international day of prayer for the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and its parishioners this Tuesday, September 24. The day of prayer will take place from five in the afternoon in Colombia, Panama, Ecuador, Peru, Mexico and Central America.
He CELAM The organization has also launched the hashtag #TodosConNicaragua to participate in the day of prayer, when “in this sister nation the Church is suffering the darkest chapters of its history.” Those who wish to participate must register HERE or follow her on social networks HERE
Lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, who is also a religious researcher, indicates that from 2018 to July 2024, 870 attacks on religious freedom have been recorded in Nicaragua, in addition to the closure of 678 NGOs, both Catholic and Evangelical.
