In a fresh attack against the Catholic Church, the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua canceled the legal personhood and confiscated the assets of a congregation of women religious.
Newsroom (06/07/2023 08:36, Gaudium Press) In a new attack against the Catholic Church, the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has taken further measures against a congregation of women religious. The Sisters of the Fraternity of the Poor Ones of Jesus Christ had their legal personhood canceled and their assets confiscated by the authorities. The incident occurred when members of the Sandinista police forcibly entered the sisters’ house at midnight. The sisters, who were planning to leave the country soon, subsequently traveled to El Salvador to continue their mission to serve the needy.
The Ministry of the Interior justified the decision to seize the convent by claiming that the congregation had failed to comply with its obligations. Specifically, they accused the sisters of not reporting their latest financial statements and stated that the term of their board of directors had expired in February 2021. As a result, the ministry transferred the responsibility for the assets, including the convent, to the Attorney General’s Office, which will now oversee their transfer to the state.
This action against the sisters has been widely criticized as arbitrary and a violation of Nicaragua’s political constitution. Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer and researcher, expressed her dismay at the measure, highlighting that confiscation is prohibited by the country’s constitution but has become a common practice under the current dictatorship.
The Sisters of the Fraternity of the Poor Ones of Jesus Christ arrived in Nicaragua in 2016 from Brazil, where they were founded by Father Gilson Sobreiro. They also have a presence in Costa Rica, Guatemala, and El Salvador. This attack by the Ortega dictatorship on the women religious comes one year after the regime expelled a group of Missionaries of Charity, the congregation founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The expelled sisters found refuge in the Diocese of Tilarán-Liberia in neighboring Costa Rica.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
