Nicaragua, this Central American country located between the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, has become for more than two years one of the greatest persecutors of Christians throughout the world. The latter suffered the wrath of the Sandinista dictatorship, embodied by Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo. Holder of full powers since January 30, the presidential couple holds the reins of an authoritarian regime not recognized by the United Nations.
Since 2018, the noose has tightened around the Church of its dignitaries, victims of threats, intimidation, persecution, illegal occupations and seizures ordered by those in power. The country has even seen most of its Catholic institutions deregistered: in total, nearly 1,320 evangelical and Catholic associations, foundations and congregations have seen their legal status removed, reports the national daily Confidential. This is the case of the Caritas diocesan Association of Matagalpa, whose movable and real estate assets were confiscated, or even of the Central American University of Nicaragua (UCA), placed under sequestration – under the pretext that it was the seat of“a terrorist center”.
More than 307 attacks in one year
Researcher Martha Patricia Molina, cNicaraguan researcher and lawyer – author of the investigation “Nicaragua: a persecuted Church? » –, reports 307 attacks against the Nicaraguan Church and 3,600 religious processions banned during 2023. A record year, during which the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship was particularly virulent towards the religious institution. Since 2018, more than 300 priests have also been expelled, banned or prohibited from entering the country.
A witch hunt which also targets the highest Catholic hierarchy in the country. This is evidenced by the brutal expulsion of the apostolic nuncio Monsignor Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag in 2022 – which caused a lot of noise and aroused the extreme indignation of the Vatican. The Bishop of Matagalpa Rolando Álvarez (one of the personalities most appreciated by Nicaraguans but sentenced to 26 years in prison without trial for “conspiracy against the state”) had also had to flee in 2024, like 18 other prelates declared “traitors to the fatherland” and exfiltrated by Rome after tough negotiations with the Holy See.
The Church cataloged as an opposition force
As recently as the end of last January, more than thirty Poor Clare nuns were suddenly expelled in the middle of the night from their monasteries in Managua and Chinandega. An episode which hit the headlines, but which is unfortunately not an isolated case. “Since the peaceful protests of 2018 against Daniel Ortega, the Church has been seen as supporting the opposition to the regime, which should be muzzled,” testifies Thomas Oswald, member of the association Aid to the Church in Need (AED), to the Tangwall Campagin. “During these protests, many demonstrators took refuge in churches to escape the repression of the police,” he rewinds again.
Pope Francis turns to Nicaragua in prayer during a Sunday angelus
In 2024 and 2025, the regime’s hostilities against the Church continue, but they are less numerous than in 2023. “It is because of the fears that the dictatorship inspires in religious people, who prefer to keep quiet about the abuses committed rather than denouncing them,” Martha Patricia Molina tells us. A visceral fear imposed by potential “retaliation”, explains the one who now lives in exile in the United States.
“The Church is silenced. The only voices that carry, the only testimonies given on what is happening in Nicaragua, come from abroad. abounds Thomas Oswald. “Many priests receive recordings of their sermons in their mailbox. A way for the regime to tell them that they are being tapped… and that the slightest misstep will be punished accordingly. he continues, specifying that such practices are also at work At Venezuela or even Cuba.
Before all these persecutions, the dictatorial regime had already cut off all of the Church’s bank accounts, accusing the religious institution of “money laundering”. A tragic ax that plunged many needy people into misery. “Daniel Ortega’s government has banned foreign donations to charities,regrette Thomas Oswald. A proscription which prevents the Church from fulfilling its social role, while the country is one of the poorest on the continent. »
For him, Nicaragua “is slowly sliding towards a totalitarian regime, where human rights and religious freedom are absolutely no longer respected”. A concern that is surprising in this country where Christians represent more than three quarters of the national demographic. “Saddened”Pope Francis had, shortly after the news of the incarceration of Mgr Rolando Alvarez, turned in prayer towards Nicaragua during a Sunday angelus, advocating “the patient exercise of dialogue” and the “sincere search for peace, which is born from truth, justice, freedom and love”.
