Ortega seeks to terrorize the Catholic Church by increasing arrests of priests, says Calidh

In light of the wave of repression by the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo against 12 priests who were illegally arrested in the last week and some of whom have been held hostage under house arrest, the Inter-American Center for Legal Assistance in Human Rights (CALIDH) affirms that the Nicaraguan dictatorship is seeking to deepen one of the many forms of terror imposed by the State against its citizens.

“…by arresting these religious people en masse, they are seeking to force the creation of a Catholic structure subject to and directed by the State, just as in fascist dictatorships,” the organization said. In addition, according to the statement, the regime intends with this form of intimidation to prevent the Nicaraguan people from expressing their discontent against the dictatorship and therefore from demanding respect for their political rights.

Related news: Forced disappearance of at least a dozen Nicaraguan priests reported

Calidh asserts that Ortega and his Sandinista structure, supported in power by the armed forces, seek to destroy the Church as a structure by emptying its bases, which are the parish priests. He also adds that the Sandinistas are trying to pressure Pope Francis to appoint new bishops and priests who have ties to the FSLN and justify or remain silent in the face of crimes against humanity in Nicaragua.

The organization joins the call of other NGOs demanding the immediate release of the kidnapped priests and guaranteeing their right to remain in the country. It also calls for an end to the wave of repression against the Catholic Church.

In the document, the organization urges Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes and the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN) to assume their role as leaders of the Church and raise their voices against the arbitrary detentions of clerics. They appeal to not just cling to prayer.

For Calidh, the silence of the CEN is reprehensible even if it is guided by Pope Francis and highlights as examples of a critical position of the dictatorships the Salvadoran priest Monsignor Arnulfo Romero, assassinated by a sniper while officiating a mass in 1980; and the Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez, the latter imprisoned and expelled from the country by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship.

As of January of this year, the Sandinista tyranny had been unleashed against 203 religious men and women, subjecting them to banishment, imprisonment, expulsion or denial of entry into Nicaragua. More than 80% of these attacks were recorded in 2023, when Ortega intensified his attack against the Catholic Church.