nicaragua news catholic church

The report, Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church? The month before, he expelled two congregations of nuns includingthe Missionaries of Charity order founded by Mother Teresa. Religion has long been part of Ortegas discourse. Build the strongest argument relying on authoritative content, attorney-editor expertise, and industry defining technology. Telemundos Dunia Elvir has more on the rising tensions between the countrys government and the Catholic Church. This Lent, please consider making a donation to Aleteia. Click the button below. The organization, which has also strongly condemned Alvarez's arrest, said human rights violations in Nicaragua have reached a critical stage since 2018. Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega is now being accused of detaining church leaders, canceling Catholic events, and shutting down religious radio stations. There are multiple accounts of masked men breaking into churches, theft or destruction of religious objects, and the prohibition of religious processions. The Managua Cathedral, a landmark in the capital city, held a mass under heavy police presence on Saturday, Aug. 13 after authorities had prohibited a procession in honor of the Virgin of Ftima. The Catholic Church has been outspoken about human rights abuses in Nicaragua. In the last five years, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has gone through more than 190 attacks and desecrations, including a fire in the Managua Cathedral, the expulsion of the Missionaries of . Screen for heightened risk individual and entities globally to help uncover hidden risks in business relationships and human networks. The Nicaraguan regime has a new target. Pope Francis hinted that he may review the Catholic Church's celibacy requirement for priests. A Catholic pastor in Nicaragua's Mulukuku has been detained for undisclosed reasons amid a growing crackdown on the Catholic Church by the government of President Daniel Ortega. In the United States, its local office is known as Catholic Relief Services. ____, Pope Francis waves to faithful at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter's Square at The Vatican, Wednesday, March 8, 2023. The State Department noted that a journalist from La Prensa said the regime has been engaging in open war against the Catholic Church since April 2018, when peaceful, nationwide anti-government protests were met with brutal force, and priests and bishops condemned the response and repression. The Ortega-Murillo Regime's War Against the Catholic Church and Civil Society in Nicaragua: Bishop Alvarez, Political Prisoners, and Prisoners of Conscience Joint Subcommittee Hearing 03.22.2023 4:00pm RHOB 2200 Global Health, Global Human Rights and International Organizations Western Hemisphere VATICAN CITY, March 12 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has ordered the closure of the Vatican Embassy in Managua and that of the Nicaraguan Embassy to the Vatican in Rome, a senior Vatican source said on Sunday. On April 18, 2018, Nicaragua exploded into nationwide protests in reaction to Ortega's social security reforms reforms demanded by the International Monetary Fund, IMF. Jagger, an activeCatholic, has been a vocal critic of Daniel Ortega'sleft-wing government, which has overseen a yearslong deadly crackdown on political opponents. The official cancellation asserted that the Caritas members decided to close down: On January 31 of the year two thousand and twenty-three, through Act No. Bishop Rolando Alvarez, a vocal critic of Ortega, was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison in Nicaragua last month on charges that included treason, undermining national integrity and spreading false news. Thanks to their partnership in our mission, we reachmore than 20 million unique users per month! In an August 2022 interview, Jagger summed upthe situation: "Ortega and Murillo have declared a war against the Catholic Church.". The demonstrations began in the city of Len and spread throughout the country. What we are witnessing is an impressive setback for Nicaragua, Iiguez said. Events. The government of Nicaragua under President Daniel Ortega has continued a campaign since 2018 targeting religious institutions, most notably the Roman Catholic Church. Hence, Ortega's repression has been brutal. His life is at stake.". US News is a recognized leader in college, grad school, hospital, mutual fund, and car rankings. We provide news about the Church and the world, as seen through the teachings of the Catholic Church. When the government deported 222 political prisoners, lvarez refused to get on the plane and was put in the Modelo prison, where thousands of common criminals are held. Articles like these are sponsored free for every Catholic through the support of generous readers just like you. The authorities violently repressed the demonstrators, resulting in 355 deaths, according to a report published in June 2022. The relations between the Church in Nicaragua and Ortegas regime became particularly strained starting in April 2018, when protests broke out over social security reforms implemented by the government. FollowNBC LatinoonFacebook,TwitterandInstagram. In March, the Ortega-Murillo regime expelled the papal nuncio from Nicaragua; in June, it stripped the legal status from the community of nuns founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta, forcing them to leave the country. Monthly: $10 a month REUTERS/Stringer. Some continue to post their prayers online. (File). The relationship between the Nicaraguan Catholic Church and the government has been severely strained since the crackdown on the anti-government protests in 2018, when the Church acted as a mediator between both sides. In recent months, Nicaragua's government has escalated its effort to silence dissent by waging a systematic campaign of repression against the Catholic Church. Thousands were in attendance, many waving Nicaraguan and Vatican flags and crying out, Mary is from Nicaragua and Nicaragua belongs to Mary!, In his homily, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, the archbishop of Managua, the countrys capital, stressed that nothing and no one can take away our love for the Virgin of Fatima because her image is engraved in the mind and heart of each one of us Nicaraguans.. When you subscribe to the CNA UPDATE, we'll send you a daily email with links to the news you need and, occasionally, breaking news. He has been under house arrest with his aides in the city of Matagalpa for nearly three months, a move that has been condemned by the Organization of American States, or OAS. The repression of independent voices and institutions in Nicaragua continues, with the Ortega-Murillo regime taking particular aim at the Catholic Church. But in an interview publishedon March 10 one month afterlvarez's sentencing Pope Francis called out Ortega as "unstable" and likened his Sandinista government to the communist dictatorship of 1917 and the Nazi Germany of 1935. A brief procession of the Virgin of Fatima in the atrium of the Cathedral of Managua, Nicaragua, was held on Saturday, Aug. 13, 2022, to close a Marian congress. Catholic leaders sheltered protesters in their . Several religious figures were arrested or fled the country, and two congregations of nuns were expelled last year. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news, religious figures were arrested or fled the country. March 15, 2023, 5:00 a.m. Jagger is grateful to the Church leaders who, like her, have issued public statements condemning the war on the Church in Nicaragua. MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) Nicaragua 's government said Sunday it has proposed suspending relations with the Vatican days after Pope Francis reportedly compared President Daniel Ortega's administration to a communist or Nazi dictatorship amid a crackdown on the Catholic Church in the Central American country. The human rights defenderpersonally shared a recent appeal with Church Militant on behalf of her Bianca Jagger Human Rights Foundation. Por Padre Carlos Ravert Posted March 16, 2023 . Our Christian faith will stand, she said. The Church helped the protestors by sheltering them in its buildings and in May 2018 tried to act as a mediator between the regime and the opposition. Ortega accused Catholic figures who supported the opposition as an anit-government that wanted to overthrow him. In Nicaragua, there is a before and after 2018. This year alone, the Ortega-Murillo government has arrested several priests, expelled missionaries, shut down Catholic radio stations, closed down a Catholic university and banned a Catholic procession and pilgrimage in a cathedral where the priest prayed for the nation. We won't rent or sell your information, and you can unsubscribe at any time. The silencing of dissenting voices in Nicaraguadirectly targets the Catholic Church yet again. The closed universities had their legal status canceled due to alleged law infringements. We have sister language agencies in Kenya, Germany, Peru, Brazil, and Italy. U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols expressed outrage at the conduct of the regime. Canales also called out the corruption of the OrtegaMurillo regime:"In Nicaragua, they can fabricate any crime against you because there is control of all branches of government by the executive.". Although "we cant affirm that all the mishaps compiled in this study have been planned and executed by the followers of Ortega-Murillo," Molinas investigation says, neither can one plead not guilty.". The message, it seems, is that there is room. The Ortega regimes police force announced it has already started an investigation in order to determine the criminal responsibility of the people involved., The statement adds that the people under investigation shall remain in their homes., Ortega, who has been in power for 15 years, has been openly hostile to the Catholic Church in the country. The statement did not mention comments made by Pope Francis in a recent interview where he called the Nicaraguan president "unbalanced." In that same month, Bishoplvarezwas placed underhouse arrest in the Matagualpachancery andcharged with "conspiracy"and "spreading false news" while heawaitedhis sham trial. Ortega called the protests an attempted coup against his government. Tension Grows Between Government, Catholic Church in Nicaragua August 20, 2022 FILE - Anti-government demonstrators during a march supporting the Catholic Church, in Managua, Nicaragua, July 28, 2018. In an interview with the Nicaraguan news outlet Confidencial, Monsignor Silvio Fonseca, Vicar for the Family at the Archdiocese of Managua, said that the government is pressuring the church into . Entrust your prayer intentions to our network of monasteries. Like the Good Shepherd, he refused to leave the country or abandon his flock to the OrtegaMurillo regime. The truth is that in years before President Ortega assumed power, these frontal attacks against the religious institution were not carried out, she points out. But in 2018,the OrtegaMurillo brew boiled over after the governmentannounced social security reformbyraising payroll taxes and cutting retirement benefits. The report cites the harassment and intimidation of Catholic worshippers by the Nicaraguan National Police; death threats against members of the clergy; accusations against priests and bishops for national security crimes; attacks by the police and violent mobs of pro-government supporters on religious institutions. The repression of independent voices and institutions in Nicaragua continues, with the Ortega-Murillo regime taking particular aim at the Catholic Church. You can contact us at news@catholicna.com with questions. According to Jagger, among those boarding a chartered flight were "sixpresidential pre-candidates, students, 'campesinos' [farmers] and business leaders, journalists and priests. The official government newspaper La Gaceta reported . MEXICO CITY (AP) Earlier this month Nicaragua shuttered seven radio stations belonging to the Catholic Church and launched an investigation into the bishop of Matagalpa, Monsignor Rolando lvarez, accusing him of inciting violent actors "to carry out acts of hate against the population." On Aug. 6, unidentified vandals stole the main switch to the cathedrals electrical control system, leaving the cathedral and surrounding grounds without power. He tweeted, Ortegas brutal assault on Catholic clergy, radio facilities and community members in Sebaco is another blow to religious freedom in Nicaragua as well as to freedom of expression. Peter and Paul Ukrainian Catholic Church Ukrainian: Malvern: 1979 Annunciation Byzantine Romanian: Romanian Church United with Rome, Greek-Catholic: Moore Park . | Photo credit: San Judas Tadeo Mga Parish, No, Pope Francis didnt really hint that the requirement for priestly celibacy will be lifted, German bishops announce plans to bless same-sex unions, allow laypeople to baptize and preach at Mass, Signs of hope and renewal amid the dramatic decline of the Catholic Church in Ireland, The image of the Virgin Mary that wept tears of blood on St. Patricks Day, Cardinals Mller, Burke rebuke German bishops over same-sex union blessings. See here for a complete list of exchanges and delays. Sign up for only one day for the low cost of $1.99. Expelled Local media said 18 nuns from the Missionaries of Charity were driven to the border in a bus escorted. Other church personnel -- including priests, seminarians and lay staff members, were among the 222 Nicaraguans released from detention and forcibly expelled to the United States on Feb. 9. On Aug. 21, Pope Francis called for a dialogue with the government as he expressed worries about the attacks against the church in Nicaragua. As part of this free service you may receive occasional offers from us at EWTN News and EWTN. Nicaragua. The Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, or Cenidh, later created the hashtag #QueCeseLaRepresinContraLaIglesia (Strop the repression against the Church) to raise awareness of the increasing tensions with the government. Law infringements figures were arrested or fled the country or abandon his flock the! The demonstrators, resulting in 355 deaths, according to a report published in June.. Telemundos Dunia Elvir has more on the rising tensions between the countrys government and the prohibition religious. 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