Much has changed in the relationship between the Catholic Church and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo — Ortega’s wife — since he rose to power in the country.
Initially, Ortega and the Sandinista National Liberation Front, a leftist guerrilla organization, relied on Catholics to mobilize against former president Anastasio Somoza’s violent dictatorship. That movement was born out of then-burgeoning liberation theology, which fused Marxism and Christianity, according to The Public Discourse.
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The Ortega regime has since turned on the Catholic Church, especially after the 2018 protests against his dictatorial presidency. According to Open Doors, persecution against believers has been on the rise since then.
In the latest crackdown, seven Nicaraguan priests detained in recent weeks were exiled to Rome, the Vatican reported. The clergy members were among the religious leaders arrested and detained by the National Police in the Diocese of Matagalpa, led by Bishop Rolando Álvarez, an outspoken critic of the Ortega regime.
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Álvarez was exiled earlier this year as he faced a 26-year prison term.
After their arrests, the detained priests were reportedly held under house arrest at the National Inter-Diocesan Seminary of Our Lady of Fátima before they were exiled.
Those exiled include two senior diocese leaders, Father René Vega Matamoros and Edgard Sacasa, who took over leading the Diocese of Matagalpa after Álvarez was exiled.
Other detainees include Father Marlon Velázquez, Father Jairo Pravia, Vicar Víctor Godoy of the Immaculate Conception of María de Sebáco Church, Franciscan Friar Silvio José Romero, and Father Harvin Tórrez, rector of the Matagalpa seminary.
The detentions and expulsions are a result of the ongoing tension between the Catholic Church and the Nicaraguan government, which is facing international condemnation for its human rights violations, according to Faithwire.
The Pontifical Mission Societies USA is calling for prayer for the safety, boldness, and spiritual courage of believers in Nicaragua, especially ministerial leaders.
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