The Ministry of the Interior (Migob) canceled the organization Cáritas de Nicaragua, the social assistance arm of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, for through the ministerial agreement 30-2023-OSFL published in the edition of this Tuesday, March 7, of La Gaceta, the official newspaper of the State.
was also posted the ministerial agreement 29-2023-OSFL, through which the cancellation of Cáritas Jinotega was announced, which operated as a social assistance center managed by the Catholic Church.
The ministerial agreements published by Migob indicate that both organizations were canceled under the figure of “voluntary dissolution.”
“On January 31, 2023, through Act 79 of the Extraordinary Assembly of Caritas Nicaragua members, they agreed to the voluntary dissolution and liquidation of said body by unanimous decision of its members, requesting Caritas de Nicaragua before the General Directorate of Non-End Organizations of Profit of the Ministry of the Interior, the cancellation of legal status by voluntary dissolution”cites the ministerial agreement.
In the case of Cáritas Jinotega, the dissolution was requested from the Migob on December 23, 2022, after the extraordinary assembly of members approved the liquidation of the social body on December 20 of that same year.
The first of these canceled organizations was Cáritas de Estelí, which occurred on February 2, 2022. That same day, the deputies of the National Assembly canceled the operating permits of a university and six NGOs linked to the Diocese of that same department.
By Monsignor Sócrates René Sándigo
On December 15, 2021, after six years at the head of Cáritas Nicaragua, Monsignor Carlos Herrera, bishop of the Diocese of Jinotega, transferred his functions to Monsignor Sócrates René Sándigo, Bishop of the Diocese of León, known for his sympathy towards the regime, but he never fully assumed his role at the head of this organization. In practice, Monsignor Herrera continued to lead.
In 2019, Monsignor Herrera denounced that the Migob kept the records issued by this State institution under “review”, which endorse the administrative documentation (minutes of the board of directors, accounting books and donations received) of this organization.
“We have had this problem since last year. We have had all our documents in order, therefore, we do not understand why they do not deliver it. They only tell us that it is under review,” Monsignor Herrera explained on that occasion to CONFIDENTIAL.
That same year, Cáritas de Nicaragua also denounced a customs blockade that the Government of Daniel Ortega had imposed on the pastoral since 2019, preventing the receipt of donations from abroad.
Ortega’s attacks on the Catholic Church
On February 21, Ortega described as “mafia” to the Catholic Church and accused it of being undemocratic for not allowing Catholics to elect the pope, cardinals, bishops and priests by direct vote.
Ortega has called “terrorists” to the Nicaraguan bishops who acted as mediators of a national dialogue seeking a peaceful solution to the crisis that the country has been experiencing since 2018.
The Sandinista leader has also described them as “putschists” and he has accused them of being accomplices of internal forces and international groups that, in his opinion, are acting in Nicaragua to overthrow him.
The National Police, whose supreme chief is Ortega, prohibited the Nicaraguan Catholic Church from celebrating the viacrusis processions during Lent and Easter this year.
*With information from EFE.
