Daniel Ortega continues his crusade against the Catholic Church and arrests a third priest

Oscar Danilo Benavidez Tinoco, pastor of the Holy Spirit Church, located in the municipality of Mulukukú, belonging to the Diocese of Siuna, became the third priest detained by the Daniel Ortega regime on Sunday. “We inform all our faithful Catholics that on the afternoon of today, Sunday, August 14, the priest Óscar Benavides, parish priest of the Holy Spirit Mulukukú parish, was arrested, we do not know the causes or reasons for his arrest, we hope that the authorities keep us informed, “he reported. the Diocese of Siuna in a statement released on social networks collected by the media ‘100% Noticias’. On Monday, Benavidez was transferred to the Chipote prison, where 180 political prisoners are currently incarcerated.

This new arrest shows the escalation of repression by the Daniel Ortega regime against the Catholic Church, critical of the regime, which forced the Organization of American States (OAS) to call an emergency meeting last Friday to address this situation.

This same Tuesday, the parishioners of a congregation could not enter the Santa Lucia Parish in Ciudad Daríonorth of Nicaragua because the Ortega police prevented access to the temple and the priest had to give the sacrament behind a fence, as can be seen in the images posted on social networks.

The case of Danilo Benavidez Tinoco adds to the harassment suffered for weeks by the Bishop Rolando Alvarez. The National Police keeps the monsignor’s parish house surrounded, located in the city of Matagalpa, in the center of the country. The measure was imposed on August 4, the same day that Álvarez carried out a procession with the symbols of Catholicism. A scene like this has not been seen since the protests of April 2018, when thousands came out against the regime, including several priests who also made processions for “peace”. For this reason, some ecclesiastical sources have assured that there is “pressure” by the Ortega government towards the Catholic hierarchy of Nicaragua in order to get the prelate out of the country.

Nevertheless, Monsignor Álvarez has refused to leave. Inside the curia, he records videos and posts them on the social networks of the Diocese of Matagalpa, his religious headquarters. The day he was besieged, he assured that he has a religious mission, and that the fight of “believers” is not only against “human forces.”

“Remember dear brothers, fear paralyzes, self-buried despair and hate is the death of the heart; hate is answered with love, despair with hope, fear with the strength and courage that the glorious and risen Christ gives us,” said the Catholic hierarch in another broadcast on August 6.

The situation in the Matagalpa curia has raised alarms again in the country. The persecution carried out around this time in 2021 against seven presidential candidates and dozens of opposition leaders is still latent. The regime opened “an investigation” against the religious leader for “trying to organize violent groups and carry out acts of hatred against the population,” according to a document published by the National Police a day after the procession. Inside the parish house there are also 11 other people who accompany the bishop on his days of prayer.

the vice president Rosario Murillo He also mentioned the events last Thursday, calling Álvarez’s actions a “crime against spirituality”, a definition that does not exist in the legal framework. «There are still some characters who are buffoonish, who make a fool of themselves… Without any moral stature. Characters who believe that time has not elapsed, characters who believe that they can occupy positions of authority, that perhaps they do not deserve, that perhaps they are not for it, “added the deputy president, who on other occasions has branded Catholic priests as “coup plotters” and “false prophets”.

increase the siege

The persecution against Monsignor Álvarez is the most visible image of the latest escalation of repression by the regime against religious Catholics. Monsignor José Leonardo Urbina and Father Manuel Salvador García they were the first two priests imprisoned by the regime for common crimes. The regime prevented both from being represented by their trusted lawyers.

Ortega has also shut down media that belonged to the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua and to community radio stations that were managed by Monsignor Álvarez in Matagalpa, as part of the media blackout that has been carried out in the country after social protests in 2018, the largest in recent Nicaraguan history.

“The persecution against the Church is much broader and deeper than the actions against Monsignor Álvarez, because they have strongly persecuted totally apolitical religious groups,” explains the former Minister of Education and sociologist Humberto Belli, who has also conducted research in the religious field. The scholar mentions expulsion of the Missionaries of Charity, an order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The nuns left the country after the National Assembly, dominated by the ruling party, canceled their legal status.

Faced with this panorama, some priests have had to go into exile, as is the case of the Father Edwin Roman, who is in Miami together with Monsignor Silvio Báez, also exiled. In the case of the latter, his departure was ordered by the Vatican in order to “protect his life.”

The Catholic Church was one of the institutions that provided humanitarian aid during the 2018 protests. The priests opened the doors of the temples to establish medical posts and collection centers. Since then, the attacks have increased.

“The signal against the religious is clear: whoever has opinions that displease the Government only has exile or jail as an alternative,” adds Belli.



Daniel Ortega continues his crusade against the Catholic Church and arrests a third priest