First the arrests, then the expulsions. There is no sign of stopping. persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. A few days ago, after being arrested by the national police, seven priests were expelled from the Central American country. They are Fray Silvio Romero of the diocese of Chontales and Harvin Tórrez, Edgard Sacasa, Víctor Godoy, Jairo Pravia, Ulises Vega and Marlon Velásquez of the diocese of Matagalpa. The news was given in a press release according to which “Seven Nicaraguan priests left Nicaragua for Rome, Italy, they arrivedsafe and sound and were received by the Holy See.” The soft tone of the Nicaraguan note, however, hides the harsh reality: the priests were first arrested in their parishes, taken to the capital and then expelled in Rome. The umpteenth episode of the anti-Catholic war triggered by the Sandinista regime of Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo and began in 2018 after the Church did not remain silent in the face of the violent repression of the population’s protests.
The persecution
This week the anti-Catholic persecution of the far-left regime has further accelerated: seventeen arrests among priests and deacons have been reported. The most affected is the Diocese of Matagalpathe same as Monsignor Rolando Álvarez, the symbolic man of the Catholic resistance. Taken by force in August 2022 while he was in the Episcopal Curia, the bishop was sentenced by the regime to 26 years in prison after refusing exile in the United States. Monsignor Álvarez was held in prison for 528 days, most of them in a maximum security cell. In January 2024 Álvarez was released to be exiled to Rome together with another bishop, fifteen priests and two seminarians. This operation had been greeted with disdainful tones by Managua which had issued a statement to thank the Pope and his Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin “for the very respectful and discreet coordination achieved.” Two months later, another auspicious message arrived on the occasion of the 75th birthday of Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes Solórzano, Metropolitan Archbishop of Managua: Vice President Rosario Murillo, Ortega’s wife, said that “the days of the bells and broken glass” were behind them. This week’s arrests, however, demonstrate that this is not the case. Cardinal Brenes Solórzano, moreover, despite having been personally attacked by paramilitary groups linked to Ortega in 2018 in the church of San Sebastian in Diriamba, is strongly criticized by a component of the Nicaraguan Catholic public opinion because he is judged to be too soft on the regime. His silence in recent days in the face of recent arrests has not gone unnoticed.
The crisis with Brazil
The persecution of Ortega-Murillo from 2018 to today has led to the suspension of nearly 8,000 religious celebrationsthe expulsion of about 80 religious men and 70 nuns, the switching off of Catholic radio stations, the confiscation of property. A situation that has provoked the reaction of Brazil, the country with the most high number of Catholics in the world. Lula, at the Pope’s suggestion, tried to mediate with Ortega to loosen the regime’s grip on the Church and promote the release of Monsignor Álvarez, but the Brazilian protests over the ongoing persecution annoyed the Nicaraguan president. The tension led to the mutual expulsion of ambassadors, marking a diplomatic crisis that is particularly significant if one takes into account the ideological affinity between the two leaders.
Lula He preferred to sacrifice relations with Nicaragua rather than risk displeasing a significant portion of his Catholic electorate, outraged by the wave of arrests and abuses against the Church in the Central American country.