Cardinal Rodríguez Maradiaga expressed his solidarity with the Nicaraguan Catholic community under the blockade imposed by the local government.
C. Rubini CTC, Vatican News
A Honduran cardinal has expressed solidarity with the Nicaraguan Catholic community in the face of sanctions from the local government.
Oscar Rodríguez Maradiaga, Cardinal and Archbishop of Tegucigalpa, described the situation of persecution that the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has endured for weeks at the hands of the Sandinista government. Local media reported that the Honduran cardinal told the church in sister country Nicaragua during the Mass on Sunday, August 14, that their silent war to persecute Jesus was not the fire Jesus intended to bring.
Cardinal Rodrigues, one of Pope Francis’ closest associates and a member of the Council of Cardinals, spoke of the anguish of the Nicaraguan church leadership and society after a series of restrictions.
For ten days, Bishop Rolando Alvarez of the Diocese of Matagalpa, five priests, and other lay people have been in police custody in the diocese building, where they are not allowed to move freely. President Daniel Ortega’s government accuses them of organizing violent communities to destabilize the Nicaraguan nation. In the wake of the blockade, eight Catholic radio stations were shut down, the traditional procession of Our Lady of Fatima in the Archdiocese of Managua was banned, and the Missionaries of Charity ecclesiastical community founded by Mother Teresa, who had found refuge in Costa Rica, was expelled from the area.