Nicaragua sent 12 Catholic priests who had been “processed” in the country to Rome on Wednesday (18), the government said. According to a researcher, this was the latest action in a “repression by the Daniel Ortega government against the church”.
Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s president, has at times accused Catholic Church leaders of trying to overthrow his government, while local authorities have arrested priests and accused some of committing treason, among other crimes.
In a two-page statement, the government said the dispatch of the priests comes after “fruitful conversations” with Catholic leaders, including unnamed Vatican officials.
The Nicaraguan government did not explicitly say the reason that justifies this action, but argues that it helps to “guarantee and defend peace” in the country.
Nicaragua’s Catholic bishops’ conference did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Exiled Nicaraguan researcher Matha Patricia Molina considers there to be persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua during Ortega’s administration and said that sending the priests to Rome is a “forced removal”.
Molina also accused Ortega of trying to “strangle and make Catholicism disappear” with his actions. The 12 priests were held as prisoners, he said, adding that the expulsion announcement should not be interpreted as easing relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican.
“Removal does not represent an end to hostilities. The attacks will continue and possibly the arrests too,” he said.
Bishop Rolando Alvarez, perhaps Ortega’s most prominent Catholic critic, was sentenced this year to 26 years in prison on treason charges, but was not among the 12 priests sent to Rome.
Source: CNN Brasil
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