Pope Francis expressed this Monday his “concern” about the detention of Catholic priests in the Nicaragua of President Daniel Ortega and asked that “the path of dialogue always be sought” to overcome problems.
“I follow with concern everything that is happening in Nicaragua, where bishops and priests have been deprived of their freedom. I convey to them, to their family and to the entire Church of the country my closeness in prayer,” he said from the window of the Apostolic Palace after praying the first Angelus of the year.
(Also read: Priest arrested after celebrating mass on the last day of the year in Nicaragua).
Francis, the first Latin American pontiff in history, urged “insistent prayer” to the faithful who listened to him from St. Peter's Square in the Vatican and “to all the people of God.”
Daniel Ortega, presidents of Nicaragua.
EFE/Cesar Pérez/Presidency of Nicaragua
“Meanwhile, I hope that the path of dialogue will always be sought to overcome difficulties. We pray today for Nicaragua,” he concluded.
The Nicaraguan Government of Daniel Ortega and the Catholic Church are experiencing moments of great tension, marked by the expulsion and imprisonment of priests, the prohibition of religious activities and the suspension of diplomatic relations.
(Keep reading: Learn about Pope Francis' prayer intentions for each month of 2024).
Since December 20, the Nicaraguan Police have arrested a bishop, 13 priests and two seminarians, as denounced by human rights defenders and opposition leaders in exile.
Neither the Government nor the Police confirm or deny the alleged arrest of those 16 religious, who join Bishop Rolando Álvarez, who on February 10 was sentenced to 26 years and 4 months in prison, stripped of his nationality and suspended his citizenship rights. for life for the crime of treason.
Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez.
Last August Ortega ordered the dissolution in the country of the Society of Jesus, the Jesuits, order to which Pope Francis himself belongs, in addition to expropriating all of his assets.
Months earlier, the pontiff had attacked the Ortega regime, calling it a “rude dictatorship”, after the conviction of Monsignor Álvarez.
“With great respect, I have no choice but to think of an imbalance in the person who leads (Ortega). There we have a bishop imprisoned, a very serious man, very capable. “He wanted to give his testimony and did not accept exile,” he told Infobae.
On October 18, the Nicaraguan Government released 12 priests and sent them to the Vatican after an agreement with the Holy See, although Monsignor Rolando Álvarez was not among them, who refuses to leave the country.
(We recommend: Pope Francis: this was his complete Christmas message and the Urbi et Orbi blessing).
Nicaragua has been going through a crisis since April 2018 that has worsened after the November 2021 elections, in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, fourth consecutive and second with his wife, Rosario Murillo, as vice president, with his main contenders in prison.
EFE
#Pope #Francis #expresses #concern #arrest #priests #Nicaragua #calls #39dialogue39
