News reports as of October 10 report that six Nicaraguan priests were arrested in the last week, most of them from the Diocese of Estelí. Unofficial reports from within Nicaragua indicate that dozens of laypeople from those parishes were also detained, especially in Jalapa, San Juan del Rio Coco and Ocotal. Some have been released on the condition that they report daily to the Police. The following article addresses the impact of this persecution on the participation of Nicaragua in the Synod of Synodality currently taking place in Rome.
Fears of bishops and priests reduce the presence of Nicaragua in the Synod of Rome
By DIVERGENTES, Oct 5, 2023
One of the most important events for the Catholic Church this year stands out for the notable absence of the bishop chosen to represent Nicaragua, Mons. René Sándigo. In his place, he sent a layperson to participate in the global event, without the company of any priestly authority.
Mons. René Sándigo, the Bishop of León, declined his participation in representation of Nicaragua in the Synod of Synodality which began this past October 4th in the Vatican.
Sources connected to the Catholic Church confided in DIVERGENTES that from Rome it was decided to not invite any Bishop from the Episcopal Conference in order to not expose them to being banished by the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship when they tried to return to Nicaragua.
That is why, from the Holy See, it was decided to directly invite Sándigo, known for having good relations with the regime, but the Bishop of León finally declined his participation in the religious event.
No ecclesiastical authority of importance for Nicaragua
The opening of this global meeting of Catholic clerics stood out for the lack of presence of Nicaraguan priests, and the delegate chosen by the Holy See, Sándigo, designated a layman to participate in his place in the event.
“As part of the opening to laypeople in this Synod of Synodality, this low-level official was named who belongs to the communications media of this ecclesial jurisdiction of the Diocese of León to fill the space of the laity,” indicated Israel González, a journalist who specializes in religious issues.
The other Nicaraguan person who attended the Synod of Synodality is the nun Xiskya Valladares, a religious sister from the Pureza de María congregation, who has been living in Spain for more than 40 years. So her participation is not related to the Catholic Church of Nicaragua, clarified González.
No explanation on the part of Mons. Sándigo
The decision of Sándigo to not attend the event, nor send any other priest authority in representation of Nicaragua was not explained by the cleric, but it could be related to fears that their entry into the country could be prohibited by the Ortega-Murillo regime, as has happened with other priests, according to the researcher in religious issues, Martha Patricia Molina. “Even though it is only speculation,” she clarified.
The last time that the Ortega-Murillo regime arbitrarily restricted the entry into the country of priests was this past September 8th, affecting the principal of the Calasanz School of Managua, Mauricio Valdivia Prado.
With him there are now six priests blocked from entering Nicaragua since July of this year. In addition, at least 40 religious have been directly expelled from the country and another 40 have been forced to go into exile, according to Molina.
In total more than 80 priests and religious have had to abandon the country, according to the 4th edition of her investigation, Nicaragua A Persecuted Church?
According to the study, since the beginning of the social and political crisis of 2018 until August of this year at least 667 attacks against the Church have been recorded, which makes Nicaragua into a country where religious persecution is practiced.
Mons. René Sándigo, noted for sympathizing with the regime
Mons. René Sándigo has been one of the most controversial peersonalities of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua during recent years. First of all because of his public appearances with officials of the Ortega-Murillo regime accused of crimes against humanity, like commissioner Ramón Avellán, and because of his lack of pronouncements against the persecution and criminalization which the Church has experienced since 2018.
Nevertheless, his apparent closeness to the Ortega-Murillo regime does not seem to provide him with guarantees of not being another priest on the list of banished priests.
“It is not far from reality to associate the fact that bishops and priests do not leave the country under the legitimate fear that the Ortega-Murillo regime would not allow them to return, and in this way leave their communities, parishes and pastoral projects leaderless, “ said Israel González, a journalist on religious issues.
“The only provable fact has been that no bishop of Nicaragua is participating in the Synod of Synodality. So it seems unfortunate to me that the local Church of our country, which has a rich pastoral experience and committed to the defense of human rights cannot have a second voice, in this case of a bishop, who might accompany the layperson who is now participating in Rome,” he added.
Despite the fact that 2023 has been one of years in which there have been more arbitrary prosecutions of priests recorded, Sándigo has not said one word about it.
Priests jailed and sentenced by the dictatorship
The dictatorship of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has 11 priests as political prisoners[1]: three have been sentenced for crimes contrived in trials without the right to defense; four are under “seminary arrest”; three are jailed in Managua and in one case they still have not been able to confirm his exact location.
Extraofficial versions on Thursday afternoon [Oct 5] reported that the dictatorship had freed the priest Leonardo Guevara Gutiérrez, the pastor of the Cathedral of Estelí.
Fr. Guevara was transferred by the Police to the Nuestra Señora de Fátima seminary in Managua on Monday May 22, 2023 in order to be investigated for “administrative affairs of the Diocese of Estelí now defunct office of Cáritas,” according to the police press release.
The Calvary of Mons. Rolando Álvarez
Among the priests jailed by the dictatorship, the case of the Bishop of Matagalpa stands out, Rolando Álvarez, sentenced to more than 25 years in jail and stripped of his nationality for crimes contrived by the dictatorship.
“The role of bishops, according to Catholic doctrine, is to be always close to the people. And in this case, the silence which Bishop Sándigo has maintained about his brother in the Episcopacy, Mons. Rolando Álvarez, is noteworthy. I think that this mitered one should reflect about whether he is doing good or ill for the Church with this type of attitudes which definitely break the unity of one Church,” indicated González.
Synod of Synodality, a Catholic event of great importance
The Synod of Synodality is a global encounter where historically only members of the Catholic hierarchy have participated. Nevertheless, this year the faithful were invited to participate for the first time.
The encounter this year stands out because it will address directly with Pope Francis issues which tend to be taboo in the Catholic Church, which could result in new reforms. In addition, women will also be able to vote for the first time on agreements which are made in the assembly.
In these meetings the situation of the persecution against the Church in Nicaragua will not be addressed, because it is not within the Instrumentum Laboris, the official document which addresses the issues of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops.
“It is evident that for the Holy See the Nicaraguan situation continues on the radar of the diplomacy of the Apostolic Palace. Nevertheless, in this encounter the focus is on the pastoral problems and challenges which Christians have in the 21st century and the reforms which the pontiff has undertaken to bring the Church up to date,” pointed out the journalist.
“So that, outside of some informal huddles, I do not believe that the issue of Nicaragua would occupy the attention of the synod fathers and mothers,” he said. The Synod of Synodality will continue until October 29th, ending its cycle which began in 2021.
[1] By the time of this translation, Oct 10, the number of priest political prisoners had risen to 13.