The “de facto expulsion” of the apostolic nuncio Waldemar Stalislaw Sommertag was abrupt, but in reality it was expected due to the frank deterioration of relations between the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo and the representative of the Holy See, sources from the Catholic Church revealed. to CONFIDENTIAL.
A high-ranking representative of the Church, who asked not to be quoted, said “that we were already noticing the frank deterioration of relations” between the Government and Monsignor Sommertag.
The apostolic nuncio abruptly left the country on the night of Sunday, March 6, without formally saying goodbye to the diplomatic corps, the country’s Catholic community and the bishops of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN).
It is expected that this Tuesday the CEN will issue a statement regarding the departure of the nuncio, after holding an emergency meeting on Monday, March 7, to address the diplomatic crisis.
“It was a surprise, but not absolute. The Church was already seeing it coming,” added the source.
A turning point in this process of deteriorating relations was on November 18, 2021, when the Government of Nicaragua annulled by decree the figure of “dean of the diplomatic corps”which since 2000 corresponded to the apostolic nuncio, representative of the Holy See.
Ortega reformed the State protocol, through decree 21-2021, which recognized the representative of the Holy Father as the dean of the diplomatic corps in article six and, in his absence, the most senior accredited ambassador. The new decision states that there should be no distinction between the heads of mission and urges “equal treatment among all.”
“The deanery of the diplomatic corps was taken away from him when the nuncio started using the term ‘political prisoners’, which he had avoided until then,” the source said.
He explained that Monsignor Sommertag had no plans to leave Nicaragua soon and “it is not at all common” for a nuncio to leave his diplomatic mission untimely. The diplomat of Polish origin, who arrived in the country after the outbreak of the 2018 crisis, was still several months away from completing his three-year period of diplomatic representation in Nicaragua. He was a interlocutor in relation to the request for the release of political prisoners kidnapped by the Ortega dictatorship.
Regime removes its representative before the Holy See
The Government of Daniel Ortega canceled the appointment of the Nicaraguan diplomatic representative to the Vatican, in the context in which the apostolic nuncio’s departure from the country was announced.
This Monday, March 7, the ministerial agreement 09-2022 of the Nicaraguan Foreign Ministry was published in La Gaceta, Official State Gazette, by means of which the appointment of Sandy Anabell Dávila Sandoval, in the position of Minister Counselor, is annulled. of the embassy of the Republic of Nicaragua in the Holy See.
In this same edition of La Gaceta, it is reported that Dávila Sandoval will be transferred to assume the position of minister-counselor with consular functions at the Nicaraguan embassy in Japan.
The publication does not announce the appointment of any official who will assume the diplomatic representation of Nicaragua before the Vatican.
This same Monday, a statement from the Nunciature confirmed this afternoon that Monsignor Sommertag “was absent from the country” on Sunday, March 6, and that the secretary of the Nunciature, Monsignor Marcel Mbaye Diouf, “remained in charge of the diplomatic mission as business manager”.
The sources consulted by CONFIDENTIAL They did not specify if there was a trigger that triggered his departure or if it was a gradual deterioration in the relationship between the government and the nuncio.
“The only thing we know is that the government imposed a peremptory deadline on him to end his diplomatic mission in the country, a de facto expulsion, and he made the decision to leave this Sunday,” the source said.
Will the Vatican name another nuncio?
The political analyst and former deputy Eliseo Núñez Morales stressed that the good relations that he had at the time Monsignor Sommertag, mainly with Rosario MurilloThey were already a thing of the past.
He insisted that the sudden departure of the apostolic nuncio, before a “declaration of non grata” was given, is due to the Vatican’s intention to leave an open channel with the Nicaraguan government.
“The regime does not dare to declare him non grata, but presses for him to leave. This had not been seen so openly, but it is part of the regime’s game of imposing its narrative and its style of government without anyone interfering with it. For a while, things had been seen to come that showed that a relationship that the nuncio had achieved was being ruined, mainly with Rosario Murillo, which worked for the release of political prisoners and served for some small concessions that Ortega gave, ”explained Nunez.
“It seems to me that the Vatican is not willing to confront the regime, because it could have been the case that they would have allowed their representative to be expelled. They want to leave an open channel. The interesting thing is going to be whether or not they appoint another nuncio, because appointing a nuncio implies presenting credentials, and that at the same time implies recognizing Ortega’s investiture. It can also happen that they leave the chargé d’affaires permanently, which is a non-recognition message,” he added.
