The police of the regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo attacked the Catholic Church at Christmas: between December 20 and 30, 13 priests and two seminarians were arrested, including priests named Monsignor Carlos Avilés, Silvio Fonseca, Miguel Mántica and Father Pablo Villafranca . These arrests complement the conviction of Bishop Rolando Álvarez and the head of the Diocese of Siuna, Isidro Mora Ortega.
“This week the Sandinista dictatorship unleashed a fierce hunt against priests, imprisoning several of them, in addition to two bishops who were already imprisoned,” denounced the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, who is in exile in the United States . “I ask the bishops and episcopal conferences of the world not to abandon us at this moment, to pray for the Church of Nicaragua, to show solidarity and to raise their voices to denounce this persecution of the dictatorship against our Church!”
At dawn on December 30, religious from the Archdiocese of Managua were arrested, including Monsignor Mántica, priest Gerardo Rodriguez, Jader Hernández and Raúl Zamora, the parish priest of Iglesia Divina Misericordia, the church that was attacked by Sandinista paramilitaries on July 13, 2018. It was a brutal, hours-long attack as part of the so-called Operation Cleanup, in which the government ordered the dismantling of protesters' barricades. That night, two university students, Geral Vásquez and Francisco Flores, were killed in an open fire. Some of the now persecuted and imprisoned priests subsequently took part as mediators in the failed national dialogue process between the Sandinista government and the opposition.
Monsignor Silvio Fonseca, parish priest for family, life and childhood of the Archdiocese of Managua, was one of those kidnapped by police officers on the night of Friday, December 29. Silvio Fonseca has been an open critic of the presidential couple, accusing them of fomenting “unprecedented hatred” against the Catholic Church and “preventing the Catholic people from forming themselves in their faith.”
The other religious arrested in December are Monsignors Marcos Diaz (León), Fernando Calero (Matagalpa), Héctor Treminio Vega Managua and Mykel Monterrey (Managua). Gerardo Rodriguez (Managua). There are also other seminarians who have not been identified by the Blue and White surveillance documenting Ortega's repression.
“The arrests of priests hinder the free and fearless practice of the faith in Nicaragua. Freedom of religion and freedom of thought are the cornerstones of a pluralistic and democratic society. Their protection is essential to promoting inclusive and respectful societies. “The arrest of these 14 religious reinforces the political condemnation of the Bishop of Matagalpa, Rolando Álvarez, and Monsignor Isidoro Mora, head of the Diocese of Siuna,” criticized the Legal Defense Unit (UDJ), which defends political prisoners.
According to researcher and lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, author of the study “Nicaragua, a Persecuted Church,” the Catholic Church has experienced 740 attacks against it from 2018 to 2023. “In 2023 alone, 275 attacks were carried out. We can describe last year as the year with the most attacks against the Catholic Church in the last five years. In addition, 176 religious men and women do not carry out their ministry in Nicaragua because they have been expelled, banned from entering the country or sent into exile,” says the exiled lawyer.
The most recent expulsion of priests came last October, when the Central American country's regime removed a dozen priests it was holding as political prisoners from its prisons and sent them on a plane to Rome. However, the expulsion of religious begins in 2018, when the Ortega-Murillos forced the exile of the auxiliary bishop of Managua, Monsignor Silvio Báez, one of the most critical pastoral voices against the authoritarian trend and human rights abuses in Nicaragua. Father Edwin Román, a priest who played a key role in protecting citizens from repression in the city of Masaya during the 2018 protests, was also exiled.
“We strongly condemn these repressive acts and call for international solidarity. We demand the immediate release of priests, seminarians and bishops and an end to all forms of persecution of the Church. We call on world leaders to unite in denouncing these crimes and exerting diplomatic pressure to stop this escalation of violence. “The international community must urgently focus its attention on the growing threat to religious freedom in Nicaragua,” stressed the group of opponents brought together in the Monteverde Concerto.
In a timeline of the persecution of Catholicism created by EL PAÍS, there are attacks on priests and bishops, church desecrations, closures of media and NGOs managed by dioceses, freezing of bank accounts and a persistent narrative against Catholicism and its hierarchs. On January 24, 2022, “Co-President” Rosario Murillo attacked the priests, calling them “retarded and backward” who “disguise themselves with masks and supposedly elegant costumes.”