At least 79 religious have left Nicaragua due to pressure from the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, who maintain fierce persecution and attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua for considering it an enemy.
This weekend it was learned that the priests Luis Masís Velásquez and Bayardo Antonio Rugama, both belonging to the Diocese of Bluefields, left their parishes to avoid being imprisoned, denounced the parishioners of their communities.
Although the Diocese of Bluefields, whose headquarters are located in the South Caribbean, has not made the departure of both priests official, the parishioners denounced to independent media that the two priests were constantly harassed by regime operatives, who harassed them and threatened them with jail. in order to silence them.
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The priest Bayardo Antonio Rugama was in charge of the parish of El Tortuguero, a municipality on the South Caribbean Coast. The religious is originally from the municipality of El Ayote and has dedicated himself to pastoral life in Nicaragua since he was ordained a priest at the age of 32, in the cathedral of the municipality of Nueva Guinea, in December 2010.
About 80 religious expelled
The priest Luis Martínez Velásquez was ordained Deacon in May 2022, by Monsignor Pablo Schmitz Simón (OFM), Bishop Emeritus of Bluefields. The religious act took place in the Santo Cristo Redentor parish, in Muelle de los Bueyes.
According to a latest report presented by lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, researcher and author of the summary “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?”, religious have been expelled from the country due to the siege and threats from the Daniel Ortega dictatorship.
Among the latest attacks against the Catholic Church, there is the confiscation of property and assets, as well as the closure of bank accounts and the confiscation of money, after being accused of money laundering.
Between the years 2018 and 2023, Molina has documented more than 500 attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, which have included robberies, desecration and burning of temples.
By United Voices
