Posted on 11/02/2024 12:18:50 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The persecution of religious figures in Nicaragua, particularly those of the Catholic Church, has intensified since the 2018 protests against President Daniel Ortega’s government. According to a recent report by Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Mas, a human rights organization operating in exile from Costa Rica, the situation has reached unprecedented levels of severity.
The report reveals that more than 50 representatives of the Catholic Church, including 43 priests, have been banned from Nicaragua since 2018. This crackdown has resulted in the arbitrary detention of at least 74 religious figures and the stripping of nationality from 35 others. The organization describes this as “the greatest persecution in the country’s history” against churches, emphasizing that even during times of war, Nicaragua had never witnessed such a large-scale imprisonment of priests and persecution of religious men and women.
The Ortega government’s actions extend beyond the religious community. Since February 2023, approximately 450 people, including politicians, businesspeople, journalists, intellectuals, and human rights activists, have been expelled from Nicaragua and stripped of their nationality under accusations of “treason.”
This systematic repression stems from the government’s response to the 2018 protests, which Ortega, a 78-year-old former guerrilla, branded as an attempted coup allegedly promoted by the United States and supported by the religious community. The crackdown on these demonstrations resulted in over 300 deaths, according to United Nations reports.
Recent developments have further strained relations between Nicaragua and the Vatican. In March 2024, Pope Francis publicly referred to Ortega’s government as a “grotesque dictatorship,” leading to the closure of the Vatican’s embassy in Nicaragua the following month after the government suggested suspending diplomatic relations.
The international community has expressed growing concern over the human rights situation in Nicaragua. In April 2024, the United Nations Human Rights Council renewed for two years the mandates of the Group of Human Rights Experts on Nicaragua and the reporting mandate of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). This decision followed a report released in March, which found reasonable grounds to believe that Nicaraguan authorities had committed crimes against humanity, including murder, imprisonment, torture, and persecution on political grounds.
As the situation continues to evolve, the plight of religious figures and other persecuted groups in Nicaragua remains a significant concern for human rights organizations and the international community alike.
Come’on down good fathers, the Orthodox Church could use some more good men to bring in the abundant harvest to Jesus!
So, you agree with them exiling Catholics?
I remember the 80s. Catholic nuns, priests and bishops singing the praises of Ortega (not all, obviously). Bishop Gumbleton of Detroit was one of the worst offenders.
Gumbleton was still the auxiliary bishop 38 years later when he was forced tor retire, due to actions he took. I imagine that is a record by quite a distance for the longest someone has remained an auxiliary bishop. Even after he retired, he was unwelcome most places. I looked it up, and apparently he died earlier this year, and it didn't get much recognition.
All Bishops are agents of the Vatican governmnet
Tell them that. Plenty stray far from their mission.
I do recall one self-identified nun (there was a word for “Christians” who supported communist revolution but I can’t recall it) who wrote a letter to the editor supporting the Sandinistas as “liberators.” Said they were merely “consolidating their revolution” and added (regarding oppression of speech) that even free states has “libel laws” and that some people were “lying” about the Sandinistas (and hence committing a crime of “libel”).
These same nuns are now on the Liz Cheney bandwagon!
Yep. They went from being so-called peace loving to being actual war mongers. It’s all topsy turvy.
And yet all WE are saying is give peace a chance.
I quipped that all the “No War!” signs we saw in 2002 and 2003 have all be moved to lawns of conservatives, and the liberals changed their signs to “Fine. War!”
The US had limitless numbers of opportunities to kill Daniel Ortega during the Contra War. What they did instead was support the presidential campaign of Violeta Chamorro, who defeated then-president Ortega in a free and fair democratic election.
Unfortunately, Ortega remains living proof of the old adage that, “The only good communist ... is a dead one.”
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