The Government of Nicaragua chaired by Daniel Ortega froze the bank accounts of at least three of the nine dioceses of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church, ecclesiastical sources denounced this Saturday.
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The dioceses with their restricted bank accounts are those of Managua, presided over by Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, and those of Matagalpa and Estelí, in charge of the imprisoned bishop Rolando Álvarez, who last February was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison for crimes considered “treason against the homeland,” religious sources told EFE.
Cardinal Brenes, also Archbishop of Managua, told the portal Public Record that he could not confirm the freezing of the bank accounts of the dioceses and that at the moment they are “seeing how to resolve the situation.”
For his part, the president of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua, Bishop Carlos Herreratold the Dispatch 505 platform that they have received information about the problems with the bank accounts of the dioceses, but that they have not been officially notified.
At the same time, the Nicaraguan Police accused this Saturday the Nicaraguan Catholic Church of “launder money” and ordered Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes to present documents showing the movements of the bank accounts of the dioceses that have intervened.
Nicaragua has already expelled several Catholic priests.
The Police began investigations that led to the discovery of hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden in bags located in facilities belonging to dioceses in the country.
The National Police reported through a press release that on Friday, May 19, they were informed “of illegal activity in the management of funds and resources in bank accounts that had belonged to people convicted of treason,” whose names were not specified.
“The Police began investigations that led to the discovery of hundreds of thousands of dollars hidden in bags located in facilities belonging to dioceses of the country,” said that institution, which did not detail the amount or places.
The exiled Nicaraguan researcher Martha Patricia Molina published screenshots of unsuccessful attempts to make bank transfers to the accounts of the Archdiocese of Managua. “Verify that the account entered is correct and try again”, “Your transfer could not be made”, “Invalid account”, are, among others, the messages that are read when trying to make a transfer in the accounts of the Archdiocese of Managua, according to Molina.
For the denationalized Nicaraguan opposition leader Félix Maradiaga“the blocking of the bank accounts of various dioceses of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua is an extreme act of aggression and persecution of the Church.”
“It is also an explicit declaration of the true aspirations of the dictatorship: to shut up and completely dissolve the voice and even the presence of an institution that, due to its moral weight in Nicaragua, is an obstacle to the plans of the Ortega- Murillo, to consolidate a dynastic dictatorship,” warned Maradiaga through a public statement.
“It is time for the international community to go into the phase of complete ignorance of the regime,” he added. Relations between the Government of Ortega and the
The Catholic Church is now experiencing moments of great tension, marked by the expulsion and imprisonment of priests, the prohibition of religious activities, and the suspension of its diplomatic relations.
Pope Francis called the Sandinista government a “rude dictatorship” in an interview with Infobae, pointing out “an imbalance in the person who runs” the Central American country.
Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, which has worsened after the controversial general elections of November 7, 2021, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth in a row and second together with his wife, Rosario Murillo. , as vice president, with her main contenders in prison or in exile.
Tegucigalpa, Efe
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