In an act of solidarity and spiritual unity, the bishops of Panama, Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala, gathered in the Assembly of the Episcopal Secretariat of Central America (SEDAC), have announced a day of prayer for the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.
With the motto “We shout with Nicaragua”, inspired by the biblical passage “If one member suffers, we all suffer with him”, the prelates expressed their “deep solidarity and communion with the people of God in Nicaragua.”
Related news: Central American bishops call for a day of prayer for the Church in Nicaragua
In the statement signed by the president of SEDAC, Monsignor Héctor David García Osorio, bishop of Yoro (Honduras), and his secretary, Monsignor José Antonio Canales, bishop of Danlí (Honduras), the Central American hierarchs highlighted that the Nicaraguan Church faces “a challenging reality” and called on the faithful of Central America to unite in prayer to accompany those who suffer.
The day will take place on December 8, during the festival of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, a celebration deeply rooted in the Marian tradition of Nicaragua and popularly known as “La Gritería.”
On this date, Nicaraguan Catholics raise their Marian devotion with the traditional cry: «Who causes so much joy? The conception of Mary!”, an act that this year will also resonate in churches throughout the region as a show of unity and support.
The persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has intensified in recent years, with measures such as the expulsion of the apostolic nuncio, the imprisonment of priests and the closure of religious institutions.
In February 2023, the bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison after an arbitrary trial, while other religious have been forced into exile. Additionally, the regime has confiscated Church property and banned public expressions of faith, in an attempt to silence its critical voice.
Costa Rica, Guatemala, Panama and the Dominican Republic rejected the candidacy proposed by the Nicaraguan dictatorship of the former foreign minister Denis Moncada Colindresto occupy the position of secretary general of the Central American Integration System (SICA), as can be seen from an offensive note that the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo addresses to the four governments, dated November 28.
“We have received your disrespectful and imposing joint note that highlights your continuous, illegal and inappropriate blockade of Nicaragua, according to all the Treaties and Regulations that govern the Central American Integration System,” says the regime’s document, which although signed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has all the signs that it was written by Rosario Murillo herself.
Related news: Four Central American countries reject Denis Moncada for the SICA secretariat, Sandinista dictatorship reacts furiously
Although until now it is not officially known that there has been a veto by the four countries, the Nicaraguan dictatorship is in charge of revealing in the note that Moncada Colindres was rejected to occupy that position in the Central American instance.
«The former chancellor of the Republic of Nicaragua, retired general general Denis Moncada Colindres, has had and has the recognition of governments, people and countries of the world, recognition and respect that cannot be ignored and/or denied by those who subscribe to this absurd communication. », says the government of Managua, revealing its bitterness.
The former Uruguayan president José “Pepe” Mujica He considers Nicolás Maduro’s Venezuela an “authoritarian regime” and believes that change will come “from within” “at some point,” he stated in an interview with AFP.
«I have intimate disagreement with authoritarian regimes. What I do not endorse is outside intervention. Venezuelans have to solve Venezuela’s problems. And in any case you have to help them. But don’t get involved,” said the former president (2010-2015).
“There will be some evolution within Venezuela at some point,” he assured.
Mujica, a former guerrilla who embraced democracy after spending 14 years in prison, most of it during the dictatorship (1973-1985), also deplored the “authoritarianism” of Nicaragua under Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, who fought against the dictatorship of Anastasio Somoza (1937-1979), governed in the 1980s with the FSLN, and returned to power in 2007.
“What happened in Nicaragua makes no sense,” he said. «It is incredible what the Sandinista revolution leads to, the old one full of stones and things. It’s monstrous. (…) It was a dreamy revolution against Somoza.
This is not the first time that Mujica attacks the dictatorial regime of the Ortega Murillo. He said that both the Sandinista and Chavista autocracy of Venezuela are “indefensible” because they “play at democracy” but do not respect it.
«Nicaragua and Venezuela They are indefensible as they are today. On the one hand, they play at democracy and do not have the courage to say: ‘We are for the dictatorship of the proletariat,’ Mujica said. «At the end of the day, that is what the Cubans decided. It will be a mess, but it is a political decision they made many years ago. These play at democracy, but when they don’t get the result… nah, it’s bullshit,” he said.
