What is the dialogue with Nicaragua that Pope Francis says he maintains?

The dialogue with the Nicaraguan regime announced by the Pope Francisco It is not equivalent to “negotiations” between the parties to achieve the democratization of the country, but rather an attempt by the Vatican to stop the repression of Daniel Ortega against the Catholic Church, political analysts indicate.

“When Pope Francis talks about dialogue, it can be quite vague and for those of us who are immersed in the reality of Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship, we know that there, that dialogue, there is not much room to advance,” he said. Israel Lewites Cornejo.

The writer explained Article 66 that the pope could be referring to the messages that the Vatican sends to the dictatorship. «Telling him: “Look, we have maintained a “neutral” position, give us concessions such as returning to the Sisters of Charity of the Mother Teresa of Calcutta order”. Right there, from his perspective, Pope Francis could say: “I am in dialogue. I am asking you for something and I am giving you something that is keeping an ambiguous position”. And the pope may be waiting for a positive response (from the regime).”

Aware that many Nicaraguans expect a more energetic position from Pope Francis and from Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes himself, the political analyst indicated that, under these conditions, “that does not seem to be possible.”

“The Vatican is not a state that has weapons, nor can it carry out economic sanctions. It is a State that is based on diplomacy and I think that Pope Francis, from his position, what remains for him to do is a “soft negotiation” to see how he “saves the skin” of his people. There he goes sailing, trying not to antagonize the dictatorship because he knows the vulnerable situation in which his people are and, I want to think, that in his way he is trying to protect the State from him », he declared.

Therefore, the “dialogue” could bear fruit as soon as the regime decreases its attacks on the Church and if, in an institutional manner, “the Catholic Church decides to kneel before the tyrant and never again express any opinion that criticizes the violations of human rights, public liberties, abuses, kidnappings, murders».

Because Ortega wants to subdue the Church, to silence her in the face of the abuses of the powerful, “which is tragic, but we would understand that they have no other choice,” added Lewites.

Police siege against Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, Bishop of the Diocese of Matagalpa and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Estelí. Photo: Screenshot. Middle Diocese.

The political analyst Alexa Zamora agrees that “it is not a dialogue to reach agreements” or that it even helps a political opening by the regime. The Church has never completely closed the channels of communication, she explained, however, she does not trust that there will be positive results in these “conversations” after the repeated demands of countries in the region and lColombia’s efforts to achieve the release of political prisoners.

“If anything, perhaps, some kind of agreement that would allow Monsignor Rolando Álvarez to leave the country,” manifested to Article 66.

“We cannot underestimate the political weight of the Catholic Church. (But) the regime is totally closed, it has no intention of dialogue in order to build a process that results in the recovery of freedoms. We cannot rule out that this dialogue will have some kind of incidence with respect to Monsignor Álvarez and the imprisoned priests, but neither can we assert that these diplomatic efforts by the Vatican will give a positive result, “he reiterated.

For Zamora, “the Vatican has to position itself in a much clearer and less soft way with respect to the current situation in which the Vatican representatives (priests) find themselves, and if the Catholic Church does not position itself very clearly, it is sending a negative message in terms of the kind of support he is giving to his church members.”

Statements by Pope Francis evidence “disconnection with the real Nicaragua”

The sociologist Oscar Rene Vargas He referred that, precisely, “Pope Francis’ statements disavow Bishops Rolando Álvarez, Silvio José Báez and Abelardo Mata, who embody the tendency, within the CEN (Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua), of the feelings of 85% of the citizens who they reject the current course of the country and, therefore, are inclined to favor the endogenous implosion of the regime».

He argued that “Pope Francis’ declarations express an underlying proposal that consists of naively asking the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship to abandon its intransigence, to learn to tolerate and coexist with dissidence in order to reach agreements with the other factual powers, and thus begin to heal the wounds and begin the reconstruction of the country».

The Supreme Pontiff did not refer to the persecution and exile of priests or the imprisonment of others, which indicates that the Vatican has adopted the thesis of “exit to the soft” that has fallen like a “jug of cold water” to the opposition and as “blessing” for the factual powers of the elite, published the political analyst.

In addition, the words of the bishop of Rome “revealed the existence of a disconnection between the Vatican and the real Nicaragua.”

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