In the early morning of August 19, President Daniel Ortega's government police entered the Episcopal Palace of Matagalpa and arrested Bishop Rolando Álvarez and the priests with him. The bishop had been facing persecution since May and was arbitrarily put under house arrest for two weeks.
FR. RAFAEL BERMÚDEZ
Nicaraguan priest in exile
They have taken everyone away. They left one priest, as I said.
Fr. Rafael Bermúdez is an exiled Nicaraguan priest living in California since 2018, when the persecution of the Church began. His friends still in Nicaragua called him early in the morning to inform him of what was happening there. He says that the Catholic Church is the only institution that opposes the Ortega-Murillo administration.
FR. RAFAEL BERMÚDEZ
Nicaraguan priest in exile
Remember that the Church is the only power that they don't have control over. And that is the reason [for the persecution].
Since May, the government's oppresion of the Church has grown. First, they threatened Bishop Álvarez. Then, they expelled the Missionary Sisters of Charity from the country, closed Catholic radio and television stations and now, they have already imprisoned nine priests.
Fr. Bermúdez says that President Ortega does not even allow priests to attend to the needy, as he sees it as a threat to the goevernment's rule.
FR. RAFAEL BERMÚDEZ
Nicaraguan priest in exile
Fulfilling the Church's works of mercy is a crime since the government is not the one doing it...
For their part, Nicaragua's neighbors have spoken out about these arrests. For example, in a communiqué, the Archbishop of Panama condemned 'the heinous facts surrounding this arrest.' He describes them as 'a cause for alarm and pain in the whole Latin American Church.'
RM
TR: KG
