Father Guillermo Blandón was returning from a trip to Israel, but was notified by the Immigration Department that he could not return to his homeland.
Newsdesk (3/10/2022 11:48 AM, Gaudium Press) The regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo has denied Father Guillermo Blandón entry into Nicaragua. The pastor of Santa Lucía Church in Boaco was returning to his homeland after a trip through Israel, on a flight with a stopover in Miami, United States.
The news was given via the Facebook page of the Santa Lucía Parish, belonging to the Diocese of Granada:
“Santa Lucía-Boaco Parish communicates to its parishioners that the Government of Nicaragua has denied the re-entry into its country of our parish priest, Father Guillermo Blandón. We ask for your prayers so that God may protect our bishops, priests and his Church”.
Also, the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Bishop Silvio Báez, who has been in exile since 2019, pointed out that the priest was notified of the situation as he was about to board his flight to Managua.
“The Nicaraguan dictatorship denies the entry into the country of another Nicaraguan priest. I just spoke with Father Guillermo Blandón, pastor of the Iglesia Sta. Lucía de Boaco, diocese of Granada. He was coming from Israel and at the airport in Miami they told him he couldn’t travel,” Monsignor Báez reported through his social networks.
The Catholic Church is suffering a violent persecution by Ortega’s regime. Last September 13, Nicaraguan priest Juan de Dios García, who was returning from Miami, USA, after visiting his family, was also prevented from entering the country. The government is holding a bishop, six priests and two seminarians in prison.
Compiled by Florence MacDonald
