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CV NEWS FEED // Nicaragua’s government has intensified its campaign against the Catholic Church, issuing an ultimatum for the country’s remaining religious sisters to leave by December, according to a report of La Croix International.
The expulsion marks another phase in President Daniel Ortega’s systematic persecution of the Church, which includes accusations, confiscations, and expulsions targeting clergy and religious groups. Lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina, from exile in Texas, highlighted this ongoing crackdown in her detailed report Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?, which documents the regime’s attacks on Catholic institutions from April 2018 to 2023.
The ultimatum adds to an already hostile environment for religious sisters, many of whom have sought refuge in neighboring Latin American countries where their congregations are active.
“The nuns have already been banned from working in non-profit organizations, now all their property is being confiscated,” Molina explained.
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Among those previously expelled were the Missionaries of Charity, a congregation founded by St. Teresa of Calcutta, who had served the nation’s poor since 1988. They were accused of financial crimes, including “money laundering” and “financing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.”
The Ortega regime’s hostility toward the Catholic Church is not new. It has included the expulsion of the apostolic nuncio in 2022 and the forced exile of clergy, including Bishop Rolando Alvarez and 245 other priests. Just last month, Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez of Jinotega was arrested and expelled, and Catholic priests were barred from ministering to the sick in public hospitals. These actions highlight the regime’s attempt to stifle a Church seen as a key opponent to its repressive rule.
>> NICARAGUAN DICTATORSHIP EXPELS CATHOLIC BISHOP TO GUATEMALA <<
Ortega, a former Marxist guerrilla, has maintained a contentious relationship with the Catholic Church, which makes up 58.5% of Nicaragua’s population. Since returning to power in 2007, Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, have increasingly targeted the Church for its criticisms of human rights abuses and repression in the country. Ortega has labeled the Church a political adversary, attacking bishops who encourage peaceful protests and who advocate for civic and evangelical values.
Pope Francis, in a Dec. 2 pastoral letter, offered solidarity to Nicaragua’s Catholics. Without directly addressing the political situation, the Pope acknowledged their suffering.
“Precisely in the most difficult moments, when it becomes humanly impossible to understand what God wants from us, we are called not to doubt His care and mercy,” he wrote.
This is not the first time Pope Francis has addressed Nicaragua’s plight. Last year, he compared Ortega’s regime to Adolf Hitler’s dictatorship, describing it as a “rude dictatorship” led by an “unbalanced” president.
The situation underscores the deteriorating state of religious and civil freedoms in Nicaragua, as the Ortega regime continues its aggressive campaign against the Church, leaving the nation’s faithful in a precarious position.
