They condemn the arrest of another priest in Nicaragua

He Nicaraguan priest Fernando Israel Zamora Silvachancellor of the Diocese of Siuna, in the Nicaraguan Caribbean, was arrested by agents of the National Police, amid tensions between Government of President Daniel Ortega and Catholic Churchdenounced church sources.

The monk was arrested on Sunday evening after attending a mass at the San Luis Gonzaga parish in Managua, presided over by Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, sources from Nicaraguan Catholic Church.

At the Eucharist, priest Edgard Rodríguez took charge of that parish, and the arrested priest was one of the guests.

The national police neither confirmed nor denied the alleged arrest of the priest.

The Nicaraguan Freedom Foundationunder the chairmanship of the freed and denationalized opposition leader Félix Maradiaga, took note of the condemnation of the priest’s arrest and demanded his release.

“From the Foundation for the Freedom of Nicaragua, we call on the international community to address this serious situation of persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and ask for international attention,” the organization said.

The articulation of social movements also required the freedom of believers and respect for their human rights.

The monk, with 27 years of priestly life, becomes the seventh priest to be arrested by the national police, including Nicaraguan bishop Rolando Álvarez, who was sentenced to more than 26 years in prison for “treason”.

Relations between Ortega’s government and the Catholic Church experienced moments of great tension, marked by the expulsion and imprisonment of priests, the banning of religious activities and the suspension of their diplomatic relations.

Pope Francis called the Sandinista government an “indecent dictatorship” in an interview with Infobae, pointing out the “imbalance in the person who leads” the Central American country.