Pope Francis has spoken out about the deteriorating situation in Nicaragua, where the government’s ongoing effort to silence dissenting voices in the country has directly and repeatedly targeted the Nicaraguan Catholic Church.
Pope Francis said he is convinced that dialogue can establish a basis for co-existence, and entrusted this intention to Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, called upon in Nicaragua as the Most Pure, Purísima.
The Pope made his appeal after leading the faithful in the midday Angelus in Rome.
I am following closely, with concern and sorrow, the situation created in Nicaragua that involves persons and institutions. I would like to express my conviction and my hope that, through an open and sincere dialogue, the basis for a respectful and peaceful co-existence might still be found.
Let us ask the Lord, through the intercession of the Purísima, to inspire everyone’s heart with this concrete will.
In less than four years, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has gone through more than 190 attacks and desecrations, including a fire in the Managua Cathedral, the expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity, and the highly irregular house arrest of Bishop Rolando Álvarez, accused of “crimes against spirituality.”
More than 1,600 people have reportedly been arbitrarily detained in recent years in the country’s prisons, according to a report published in December 2020 by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
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