Some thirty Nicaraguan religious and priests sent an open letter to Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, in which they point out that His “silence” in the face of the regime’s persecution “screams conformism and indifference”. In addition, they exhort him to stop “being a pamphleteer who acts like a politician ‘to the tune they play’.”
The letter, dated December 13, 2022, was signed by “religious men and women religious from Nicaragua, in hiding due to the harassment and vulnerability in which we feel together with the holy people of God.”
The religious apologize to the prelate for having to communicate with him in this way, although they clarify that the “situation” in Nicaragua “makes another way of communication difficult.”
“We simply want to communicate to you some impressions that we in the resistance to the dictatorship have captured from your way of responding to the current situation,” they emphasize.
The religious and priests point out: “Unfortunately, we see in you a lack of solidarity not only with your imprisoned and exiled brother bishops and priests, but with the entire Nicaraguan community suffering the oppression of this dictatorship.”
“While —they continue— Bishops Silvio Báez and Rolando Álvarez are paying a high price for their prophetic stance Faced with the dictatorship, their silence screams conformism and indifference”.
“He acts as a politician ‘to the tune that they play’”
ANDhe regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has kidnapped the Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando José Álvarez, eight priests and two seminarians, as part of a repressive escalation against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. In addition, on March 6 the Government expelled from the country the apostolic nuncio Waldemar Sommertag, and also expelled from the national territory 18 Missionaries of Charitycongregation founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta.
The dictatorship has also closed a dozen radio and television channels that belonged to the Catholic Church, and since 2018 Catholic churches and priests have been victims of 190 attacks.
The letter indicates that “while hundreds of thousands of Nicaraguans are suffering the drama of poverty, unemployment, forced migration, unjust imprisonment, or painful exile, or the loss of loved members of their families, you do everything possible to avoid conflict with the bloody dictatorship”.
The priests demand that Brenes “stop being a pamphleteer who acts as a politician ‘to the tune’ and not as a pastor in the face of one of the worst human rights crises that the Nicaraguan people are experiencing.”
“How long will you shut up? What prevents him from being a prophet as he promised when he was ordained a priest and assuming his role as pastor? ”, They question him.
Below is the full letter to which he had access CONFIDENTIAL
