Christian Persecution: Nicaragua Bans Catholic Processions for ‘Public Security’

People pray during a mass at the Matagalpa Cathedral in Matagalpa, Nicaragua, on August 19
OSWALDO RIVAS/AFP via Getty Images

The socialist regime of Nicaragua banned the traditional yearly Catholic processions for Saints Michael and Jerome that respectively take place on September 29 – 30 – the latest in a growing assault on Christianity in the country.

The Archdiocese of Managua announced on Saturday via Facebook that they received a notification from the national police of the city of Masaya that stated that “for reasons of public security” the processions during the festivities of Saint Michael and Saint Jerome will not be allowed.

“We invite the devotees and promisers of the patron saints to keep in mind that faith and devotion are a treasure that we carry in our hearts and from there we can pay due homage with the strength of the ancestral heritage in our communities,” the Archdiocese’s statement read.

The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has endured as a strong bastion of opposition against the nation’s dictator, Daniel Ortega, and his communist Sandinista regime. Ortega, who branded the Nicaraguan bishops “terrorists” in 2021, has maintained a fierce campaign against the Nicaraguan Catholic Church in retaliation. According to data obtained from the last official national census (2005), 59 percent of Nicaragua’s population of 6 million is Catholic.

The Ortega regime’s animosity towards the Catholic Church evolved into a persecution campaign in 2018 after the Church sided with anti-Ortega protesters calling for an end to the dictatorship amidst a brutal crackdown and numerous human rights violations that left over 300 killed and thousands imprisoned. 

Ortega has redoubled his repression against the Catholic Church throughout 2022. In March, the Ortega regime banished the papal nuncio, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, from Nicaragua by declaring him “persona non grata.” In July, the regime expelled 18 nuns from the Missionaries of Charity congregatio. Pro-Ortega sympathizers have stormed Catholic Churches in the past, interrupting Mass and assaulting members of the Church and citizens.

Since May, the Ortega regime has continued to forcefully shut down Catholic television channels and radio stations throughout the nation. Seven Catholic radio stations were shut down in a single day in August.

On August 19, Nicaraguan police raided the residence of Bishop of Matagalpa Rolando Álvarez, arresting him and seven members of the Church. Prior to his arrest, Bishop Álvarez, an outspoken critic of the Ortega regime, had been accused of having commited “sins against spirituality” by Rosario Murillo, Nicaragua’s vice president and dictator Ortega’s wife.

Saint Jerome’s festivities are the most extensive celebrations of their kind in Nicaragua and traditionally stretch on for months. They are celebrated in the city of Masaya, one of Nicaragua’s cultural landmarks, where he is the patron saint. The now banned procession is preceded by a nearly two-month period of festivities in honor of the Saint.

The city of Masaya was considered a stronghold against dictator Daniel Ortega during the intense protests against the Sandinista regime that took place in 2018. On July 2018, the Ortega dictatorship launched an armed attack on Masaya to crack down the opposition forces in the city.

This is not the first time the Ortega dictatorship has banned a Catholic festivity in the country this year. In August, the Sandinista regime banned the festivities of Our Lady of Fátima as the Catholic Church in Managua celebrated its Marian Congress. The Nicaraguan police alleged “internal security reasons” made the event impossible.

Christian K. Caruzo is a Venezuelan writer and documents life under socialism. You can follow him on Twitter here.

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