By CP Staff, Friday, August 09, 2024

Nicaragua has detained about a dozen priests in what advocates call a “renewed crackdown” on the Catholic Church, most of whom were leaders in the diocese formerly led by exiled Bishop Rolando Álvarez.

Seventy-nine-year-old Father Frutos Constantino Valle Salmerón was arrested on July 26 by the National Police and was told that he did not have permission to ordain three deacons in the Diocese of Estelí in Managua, the global watchdog organization. Christian Solidarity Worldwide said Wednesday.

A diabetic suffering from hypertension, Frutos fell ill in the police vehicle and was placed under house arrest at the National Inter-Diocese Seminary of Our Lady of Fátima.

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Two senior church officials in the Diocese of Matagalpa – Fathers Ulises René Vega Matamoros and Edgard Sacasa – were arbitrarily arrested on August 1 and also taken to the Managua-based seminary. Vega, administrator of the San Ramón parishes, and Sacasa, administrator of the San Isidro parish, assumed leadership of the Diocese of Matagalpa after the high-profile exile of Bishop Álvarez at the beginning of this year.

In the following two days – August 2 and August 3 – the National Police arrested more religious leaders from their parishes in Matagalpa and placed them under house arrest in the Managua-based seminary. These include Father Jairo Pravia and Vicar Víctor Godoy of the Immaculate Conception of María de Sebáco Church, Franciscans Friar Silvio José Romero, Friar Ramón Morras, Father Antonio López and Father Salvador López.

On Monday, police detained Father Jarvin Tórrez, rector of the Matagalpa seminary and parish priest of Santa María de Guadalupe Church in Matagalpa.

Father Raúl Francisco Villegas of Matiguás Matagalpa parish, originally from Mexico, and Maron Velásquez Flores, vicar of Santa Lucía parish, are also detained in the seminary, CSW reports.

At least 13 Catholic leaders were arrested during the week, Vatican News reports

Seventy priests used to supervise the Diocese of Matagalpa, including 57 nationals and 13 foreigners, 30 of whom are in exile and four deceased, according to Nicaraguan lawyer Martha Patricia.

The United Kingdom-based CSW, which monitors Christian persecution in several countries, is calling for the unconditional release of all religious leaders and political prisoners detained in recent months.

“The continued arrest and detention of religious leaders by the Nicaraguan government is both unwarranted and unwarranted,” CSW Founding President Mervyn Thomas said in a statement.

“We urge the international community to emphasize to the Nicaraguan government that the continued repression against independent civil society, the relentless targeting of religious leaders and the continuous violations of the right to freedom of religion or belief are unacceptable. More must be done to keep President [Danie] Ortega, his wife and their regime to be responsible for the deterioration of human rights in the country.”

In January, Bishop Álvarez, a critic of the Ortega regime who was sentenced to 26 years in prison in February 2023 for “undermining national integrity”, was exiled along with some 18 other Catholic leaders after negotiations with the Vatican. The exile included more than a dozen Catholic leaders and seminarians detained in a December 2023 purge.

Tensions between the Catholic Church and the Ortega regime worsened amid the crackdown. In March 2023, Nicaragua forced the Vatican to close its nunciature in Managua. Citing the human rights organization Nicaragua Nunca Mas collective, the French newspaper La Croix reports that more than 200 religious figures either fled or were forced to leave the country.

The US State Department identifies Nicaragua as a “Country of Special Concern” for engaging in gross violations of religious freedom. In its annual international religious freedom a reportthe State Department notes that government repressions have also affected evangelists in Nicaragua.

In March, 11 priests linked to the American ministry Mountain Gateway were convicted of money laundering in a case involving three American citizens. The allegations came after the ministry organized evangelistic outreaches that drew hundreds of thousands across various cities. The ministry refuted the allegations.

Since 2018, at least 60 evangelical pastors have gone into self-imposed exile due to government threats or have been denied re-entry into the country after traveling abroad, according to the State Department report, which the news site cites. 100% News.