The Jesuit Province of Central America recognized on August 15 Anniversary of the disappearance of Central American University In Managua, Nicaragua, “with deep pain and indignation, but Unshakable hope and a relentless pursuit of justice.” They noted that the “unpunished and unjustified seizure” of the university has “caused incalculable damage to Nicaragua’s scientific and cultural heritage and continues to constitute a grave violation of the right to education of thousands of young people studying at Nicaraguan universities.”
The university was seized last year during a massive crackdown by the Sandinista government on the Society of Jesus and the Church in Nicaragua. The Jesuits lamented the disappearance of the university's “research centers, library, historical document collections, natural resource catalogs, property and financial resources” in Nicaragua. A statement today.
The Jesuits said the seizure of the university not only violated society's property rights but also “a grave violation of the inalienable right to due process and legal defense.” They called the seizure of the university part of a systematic repression across the country “which, sadly, continues to this day and targets any person or institution suspected of disagreeing with the regime, including religious institutions of all denominations.”
The association urged the Ortega government to “stop repression and systematic human rights violations,” “release political prisoners” and “accept the search for a rational solution guided by truth, justice, dialogue, academic freedom and respect for the rule of law.”
Now that Nicaragua’s independent media and political opposition have been silenced by the Ortega family and the Sandinista government, the church has become the last indigenous institution standing in opposition to Nicaragua’s increasingly totalitarian government. Under former Sandinista chief Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario María Murillo, the central government first responded to the violently suppressed student protests of 2018 with a variety of repressive policies.More than 300 people died— initially angered more Nicaraguans Opposition to Mr. Ortega's continued rule.
The Managua government began a massive crackdown on civil liberties and civic groups that might oppose it, expelling journalists and shutting down thousands of domestic and foreign humanitarian and human rights organizations. The regime jailed dissidents, protesters, and opposition politicians, exiled priests and critics, and closed or confiscated Catholic educational institutions.
The country has expelled several Catholic denominations, including Missionaries of Charity and other organizations and entities involved in significant humanitarian and direct service work in a country One of the poorest countries in Latin AmericaLast summer, the government seized Managua’s Jesuit University amid a wave of evictions and property confiscations. Targeting Jesuits and other Catholic schools and Church-related NGOs throughout Nicaragua.
In a report released on August 15, “Nicaragua: A persecuted church?“Researcher Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro, This year's winners The recipients of the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Award tracked 92 acts of hostility against churches in the first six months of 2024. These government-sponsored aggressions included death threats, arrests, looting, expulsions, interference with worship celebrations, attacks on laypeople, and confiscation or destruction of church property.
She documented 307 such acts in 2023, a sharp increase from the 171 aggressions recorded in 2022. According to the report, there are currently 245 clergy, men and women religious and lay Catholics in exile, unable to return to Nicaragua or expelled by government officials. Most of the exiles are native Nicaraguans.
In recent days, the government has stepped up its crackdown on the Church, revoking the legal status of the Caritas office in the Diocese of Matagalpa and Continued arrests of priests and parishionersFollowing its practice with many other church-related entities, the government found technical problems with the registration regulations and used them as a basis to revoke Caritas’ legal status, effectively shutting it down. The social welfare agency’s assets are being handed over to the government.
With the elimination of Caritas and related entities, the number of NGOs banned by the government since December 2018 has risen to more than 3,600, with most of their assets transferred to state ownership.
The action against Caritas follows a wave of arrests targeting priests in the dioceses of Matagalpa and Esteli, where exiled Bishop Rolando Álvarez is the bishop and apostolic administrator, respectively. On August 7, seven detained priests were exiled to the Vatican, while Father Francisco Tercero remains in prison. The whereabouts of Brothers Ramón Moras and Salvador de las Calabasas remain unknown.
A deacon and a priest were released, while another priest voluntarily left the country, according to Nicaraguan independent media. Two more priests and two women faithful were arrested after the seven priests were exiled, according to Nicaraguan independent media.
“The Diocese of Matagalpa no longer has any clergy. We were expelled, pressured and forced to flee. The diocese is on its own,” an exiled priest familiar with the diocese told OSV News on August 7.
OSV News
