Catholic priest Fernando Zamora Silva was arrested for no apparent reason by Nicaraguan police last Sunday.
Newsroom (14/07/2023 16:17, Gaudium Press) The Sandinista government’s persecution of the Catholic Church continues. Father Fernando Zamora Silva, chancellor of the Diocese of Siuna, in the northeast of the country, was arrested by Nicaraguan police while he was in Managua, the country’s capital, to participate in a Mass of imposition celebrated by Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, in the church of St. Louis Gonzaga.
Witnesses say that the police drove around the church during the Mass with a threatening attitude. After the celebration, the car carrying Father Fernando Zamora was stopped at a traffic light and police officers took him into custody at around 8pm local time.
Other priests who were present at the ceremony remained inside the church as a precaution, to avoid other possible arrests. The exact location of the priest is not known at this time. No charges have been filed against him either, nor have the reasons for his arrest been disclosed.
Father Fernando Zamora Silva is the seventh cleric imprisoned by the Nicaraguan government, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was convicted of “treason to the country” by Judge Nadia Camila Tardencilla, following his political exile in February 2023. In addition to the clerics, about 20 other religious are detained by the government. The list of actions against the Catholic Church by Daniel Ortega is constantly growing.
Earlier this month, police raided the convent of the Sisters of the Poor of Jesus Christ, a female congregation that had been in the country for more than seven years. The nuns were deported to El Salvador. After the nuns left, the government seized their house. (FM)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
