The Sandinista government of Nicaragua has ordered the closure of two universities linked to the Catholic Church
Newsroom (March 14, 2023, 3:00 PM, Gaudium Press) Accused of failing to comply with legislation, the John Paul II University and the Autonomous Christian University of Nicaragua had the decree of dissolution published in the official journal and signed by the Minister of the Interior, María Amelia Coronel Kinloch.
The decree is based on the apparent non-compliance with the obligations that regulate the universities. In addition, the two organizations would have hindered the control and supervision of the General Directorate for the Registration and Control of Non-Profit Entities.
Also according to the Ministry of the Interior, the UCAN has not presented the financial statements for the last three years and the John Paul II University has not presented those for the years 2021 and 2022.
The government resolution determines that the authorities of the universities must deliver to the National Council of Universities (CNU) all the data and all the information about the students, teachers, enrollments and other documents of the universities.
Thus, the students of the said universities will be enrolled in other university education institutions and the assets of the universities will be confiscated by the state. The University of John Paul II has units in the capital and four other cities, and the UCAN has poles in six cities.
The Nicaraguan government also announced the closure of the Marian Foundation for the Fight against Cancer and the “voluntary” dissolution of two Catholic organizations: Caritas Nicaragua and Caritas Diocesana de Jinotega.
Daniel Ortega’s government is accused of violating human rights and deploying persecution against the Catholic Church and the country’s political opposition.
In 2018, when some members of the Church denounced the human rights violations committed by the government, Daniel Ortega began a dictatoriasl policy against his opponents.
With a long list of persecutory interventions, such as the expulsion of the Pope’s representative and religious congregations from the country, the exile and imprisonment of members of the Church, the closure and seizure of assets of Catholic institutions, the Nicaraguan government is suffering sanctions from the United States and the European Union in order for it to cease its policy of repression.(FM)
Compiled by Zephania Gangl
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