According to a report entitled “Nicaragua: a persecuted church?”, 90 of these attacks occurred during this year 2023.
Newsroom (07/05/2023 13:30 Gaudium Press) The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has suffered at least 529 attacks perpetrated by Daniel Ortega’s dictatorship over the past five years. This is what the third part of a report entitled “Nicaragua: a persecuted church?” says.
According to researcher and lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, 90 of these attacks occurred during this year 2023. The document, which condemns the imprisonment of religious leaders and lay people, details the hostilities, persecutions, harassments, desecrations, destructions, thefts, expulsions and confiscations perpetrated by the dictator government.
2022 was the year with the most attacks
According to the report, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua suffered 84 attacks in 2018, 80 in 2019, 59 in 2020, 55 in 2021, 161 in 2022, and 90 in the four months of this year. The numbers for 2022 were the highest in the last five years, however it is possible that 2023 will surpass the previous year.
Among the aggressions are the unjust imprisonment of Bishop Rolando Álvarez since February; the expulsion of 32 religious women from the country; the confiscation of 7 Church buildings by the dictatorial regime; and the closing of several media outlets.
That we do not repeat the current mistakes
In addition, the document records the suppression of 3,176 processions during the last Holy Week, the systematization of hostilities, hostilities against the Catholic Church from April 2018 to 2023, and a chronology of desecrations, sacrileges, attacks, robberies, and attacks against the Church.
Divided into four chapters, the study proposes to “systematize, show and contribute to the political, cultural and social history of Nicaragua, for future and current generations, in order not to forget the events and decisions of the parties.” Molina also intends to “turn the study into a collection of human lessons and social and political experiences so that we do not repeat the current mistakes.” (EPC)
Compiled by Teresa Joseph
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