‘Difficult circumstances’ for Christians in Nicaragua

Pope Francis mentioned in his Easter message Nicaragua as a place where Christians “celebrate Easter in difficult circumstances” after authorities banned street processions and imprisoned parishioners.

“Support, Lord, the Christian communities that celebrate Easter today in special circumstances, such as Nicaragua and Eritrea, and remember all those who are prevented from freely and publicly professing their faith.”the pope said from St. Peter’s Basilica before giving the Urbi et Orbi blessing.

Nicaragua was the only one mentioned Latin America what Francis did in his speech, held in front of 100,000 believers towards the Vatican and in which he went over the various conflicts that are plaguing the world, with special reference to the Middle East and Ukraine.

exactly this Easter week, at least nine parishioners and one journalist were arrested in the Central American country while participating in religious celebrations, according to a report confirmed by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

According to the report, From April 1 to 6, 35 incidents related to human rights violations took place in Nicaraguaincluding the expulsion from the country of the Panamanian priest Donaciano Alarcón.

In addition, National police banned religious processions such as the Lenten Way of the Cross or the “Cyrineos” tour, just as less than two weeks remain until the fifth anniversary of the mass demonstrations against the government of Daniel Ortega.

The Pope has already described the regime of Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega as an “indecent dictatorship”in an interview published in March by the Argentinian portal Infobae, where he also criticized the 26-year prison sentence of a bishop who criticized the country’s government.

Nicaragua has been going through a political and social crisis since April 2018, which worsened after the controversial general elections on November 7, 2021. in which Ortega was re-elected for a fifth term, the fourth in a row and the second with his wife Murillo as vice president, and his main competitors in prison.

The war in Ukraine this Easter Sunday once again focused on the message of Pope Francis, who in his Urbi et Orbi blessing asked for “help to the beloved Ukrainian people”, “light” to the Russian people and was “concerned” about the revival from violence between Israel and Palestine.