Was the Nicaraguan Church Forced into Silence?

Overall, persecution of the Church in Nicaragua has been largely forgotten since January, when two bishops and a group of priests and seminarians were exiled from the Central American country.

The Nicaraguan dictatorship has reportedly not imprisoned any priests since Bishop Rolando Álvarez, Bishop Isidoro Mora and their companions were sent to Rome six months ago.

But this silence is not necessarily an indicator that the situation has improved.

Local observers see little reason for hope. On the contrary, the fact that there is no news from Nicaragua is news in itself. It suggests that the crackdown on the Church has entered a new phase – one in which Catholic leaders may privately oppose the government but are too afraid to speak out publicly.

A silent persecution

With nearly six months having passed since the last public deportation of clergy, the Nicaraguan regime continues to quietly take steps to limit the Church’s operations in the country.

On May 22, the government announced the dissolution of six non-profit religious organizations, including two Catholic institutions: the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart and ACVINPROH, a humanitarian organization.

According to the government, these organisations have not fulfilled their obligations regarding the communication of financial statements to the authorities.

It is the same justification that has been used to dissolve – and seize the assets of – many religious congregations in the country, including the Missionaries of Charity, the Franciscans, the Jesuits and at least four Catholic universities.

While the number of religious exiles has decreased in 2024, a significant number of priests and religious continue to flee the country due to threats against them. Since the beginning of the year, 35 priests and religious have fled Nicaragua, including Álvarez, Mora and the 17 others who were sent with them to Rome.

According to a report published last year by researcher Martha Molina, 224 priests, seminarians and religious have been officially forced to leave the country. However, local observers believe the figure is higher, as many priests choose not to reveal their departure into exile for fear of reprisals against their families.

At least 15% of Nicaragua’s clergy are now forced into exile. The situation is particularly serious in the diocese of Matagalpa, where this figure represents more than 50% of diocesan priests.

The bishops who remain in the country are under constant surveillance by the police. During recent pastoral visits, the Bishop of León, René Sándigo, and Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes were seen in the company of police officers.

Local media The Press It has also been reported that the families of exiled priests remain under surveillance in Nicaragua.

Many are frequently questioned by authorities about the priests’ whereabouts, their activities abroad and whether they send money to their families, communities and friends.

A change of perspective

Why has the persecution of the Church been silenced for the past six months?

It appears that Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega has largely achieved his goal of silencing the Catholic Church.

He exiled the three bishops who were the most prominent critics of the regime: Álvarez, Mora and Silvio Báez, auxiliary bishop of Managua, who went into exile in 2019.

Most Nicaraguan bishops are not supportive of the regime, but after five years of widespread persecution, they have largely chosen silence over open criticism.

The same phenomenon has occurred among priests. Any priest who played an active role in the 2019 protests – or who dared to publicly criticize the regime since then – has been imprisoned, forced into exile, or banned from returning to the country.

In fact, during the last wave of persecution in December 2023, some priests in Matagalpa were imprisoned for mentioning their bishop, Rolando Álvarez, in the Eucharistic prayer during Mass.

The priests who remained achieved this largely by remaining silent and avoiding confrontation.

Ortega knows that it is impossible to completely destroy the Catholic Church in Nicaragua. But he seems to have made significant progress in reducing the Church to silence and insignificance – a kind of controlled opposition.

In addition, Ortega has exiled a significant number of diocesan officials and priests who studied theology abroad, leading many observers to believe that he is seeking to keep the Church silent by emptying the pool of future episcopal candidates.

Cardinal Brenes celebrated his 75th birthday, the usual age for episcopal retirement, a few months ago, as did the Bishop of Jinotega, Carlos Herrera. The dioceses of Estelí, Matagalpa and Siuna all have bishops in exile. That makes five dioceses with irregular episcopal situations that could need a new bishop sooner than expected.

With leading bishops and priests exiled, and Catholic universities and religious congregations closed, Ortega can be confident that the Catholic Church is under control for now.

It seems that he is shifting his focus from religious opposition to political opposition.

Ortega recently fired his finance minister, Iván Acosta, who had held the post since 2012.

He also recently placed his own brother, Humberto Ortega, under house arrest, who had criticized the current regime. Humberto was the commander-in-chief of the Nicaraguan army during Ortega’s first government (1979-1990).

When Nicaraguan Sheynnis Palacios won the Miss Universe 2023 pageant, the Ortega dictatorship banned the celebrations and exiled the Miss Nicaragua director for allegedly trying to use Palacios’ victory to stage a coup. Palacios has not returned to the country since her victory, though she denies being exiled.

It remains to be seen what the future holds for the Church in Nicaragua.

Local analysts point out that Ortega has become increasingly erratic and that his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, has played a more important role in the regime.

Ortega is already 78, but he has no obvious successor. Murillo is the most obvious choice, but she is herself 72 and has many political opponents.

Faced with an uncertain future, the country’s Catholic leaders may opt for silence while waiting to see how the situation evolves.