Pope Francis affirmed this Thursday, September 15, that “there is dialogue with Nicaragua” and that the Vatican has spoken with the Government of Daniel Ortega. This he declared when asked by journalists about the human rights crisis and the repressive escalation suffered by the Catholic Church in this country.
“In Nicaragua the news is clear, there is dialogue, there has been talks with the government. There is dialogue, but this does not mean that everything the government does is approved or disapproved, ”said the pontiff during a press conference aboard the papal plane on his return to Rome after his trip to Kazakhstan.
The pope assured that “there are problems and they must be solved” and wished that they can return to the country the missionaries of charity, a congregation founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta and which was outlawed in Nicaragua last July. The 18 missionaries who were kicked out of the country “are revolutionaries, but revolutionaries of the Gospel and women like them are needed,” Francis said.
“There are things that are not understood, that are not assimilated, but dialogue must never be stopped,” added the Pope, after describing the expulsion of the nuncio from Nicaragua as “incomprehensible”. Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertagwho is “a good man who has now been appointed in another country.”
Regarding the house arrest of the Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, who is critical of the Government of Daniel Ortega, Francisco said that he has not spoken with him.
Regarding the absence of religious freedom, the Pope pointed out that “there are many cases of this type in Latin America.”
The pope was criticized a few weeks ago for keeping silent about Daniel Ortega’s decisions, but Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes assured in an interview that Francis was “super informed” about what was happening in the country.
On August 21, after praying the Angelus, the pope expressed his concern and pain over the situation in Nicaragua and urged “an open and sincere dialogue” so that “the foundations for a respectful and peaceful coexistence can be found.”
The pontiff also asked the Lord on that occasion so that “the Immaculate may inspire in the hearts of all parties such a concrete will.”
The Ortega regime, however, has not ruled on the issue, which is why analysts have pointed out that “there is no genuine interest” in solving things.
The silence of the regime
The human rights defender, Martha Patricia Molina, pointed out a few weeks ago that the regime’s silence shows that “never” had the “willingness to dialogue transparently”.
“Nicaragua is a criminal state led by a sick family of power that violates human rights on a daily basis and has never shown the will to dialogue in a transparent manner. Ortega will only negotiate with peers, that is, with criminals, “said the lawyer.
Molina also emphasized that Pope Francis’ call for dialogue is positive, but it should be appreciated that he speaks in his capacity as a pastor and “that does not mean that we should move away from reparation and justice” for the victims of the regime.
Sociologist Humberto Belli also stated, after Francisco’s statement, that the Church has put “the ball in the court” of Ortega and Murillo. Although he appreciated that Francisco’s message lacked “grit”, he also has something “positive”.
“The positive part that I see is that, by calling for dialogue —which the Pope cannot stop doing, nor can anyone renounce it, would at least ideally be the solution to most of the crisis—, he is putting the ball on the court to the Government. The Church is now officially calling for dialogue. She now it’s up to the Government to give an initiative. Well, I’m going to release the prisoners as an expression of dialogue, I’m going to create a new dialogue table, I’m going to get some representatives of the opposition (from prison) to talk to them,” said Belli.
