The parish priest of the Diocese of Jinotega is the latest in a long list of clerics recently arrested in the Central American country. At the end of year mass, the Archbishop of Managua, Cardinal José Brenes Solórzano, expressed his solidarity with the families and communities of those affected.
Pope Francis criticized the arrests of priests and bishops in Nicaragua during the Angelus prayer on this World Day of Peace. He said he was following the events with concern…
According to local sources, Father Gustavo Sandino was arrested on December 31, after Sunday mass in Santa María de Pastasma, in the diocese of Jinotega.
The same fate has happened in recent days to at least 14 priests, two seminarians and the bishop of Siuna, Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega.
The latter was arrested after praying for the Bishop of Matagalpa and Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, Rolando José Álvarez Lagos, sentenced to 26 years in prison without due process.
At the closing mass of the year, the Archbishop of Managua, Cardinal Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, expressed his solidarity “with the families and communities who at this moment miss their priests” and invited everyone to remain united in prayer.
As lawyer Martha Patricia Molina announced at a press conference, mass celebrations at the end of the year were canceled and the faithful were invited to return home. It is not known whether priests from the affected parishes were arrested. So far, neither the government nor the police have confirmed or denied the clergy's detention.
United Nations is sounding the alarm
Nicaragua is “moving further and further away” from the rule of law, with repeated cases of arbitrary arrests of members of the Catholic Church, activists and journalists, officials at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights said.
(Vatican news – skr)