Government of Nicaragua Takes Over Catholic Nuns' Monastery and Makes Arrests of Faithful during Holy Week

 

The Government of Nicaragua, under the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega, has taken over a Catholic nuns' monastery and made arrests of faithful during Holy Week. 

The Nuns, now living in Panama, released on their Facebook page:
"May the risen Lord fill you with his mercy, united in love and
prayer, Trappist Sisters of Panama. We share with you that on the 24th of
February we left the monastery and on the 25th we arrived in Panama. We had left the monastery under the administration of the diocese while the management was being carried out before MIGOB (Interior Government Ministry) of the voluntary closure of the Association. On March 1, we presented, before MIGOB the closing deed.

On March 3, the government authorities presented themselves 

to our bishop, to inform him verbally, that they could no longer go to the Monastery and that the INTA (Institute of Agricultural Tech) would work there.

Easter was held reportedly with full churches in Nicaragua. However, 20 arrests were made. A number of believers had opposed the ban on Good Friday processions and were thus taking a great risk. This year's Easter celebrations in Nicaragua were under extreme tension after the government had previously banned the traditional Good Friday and Easter public processions. According to the anti-government portal Despacho 505 (Tuesday), 17 believers who disobeyed this order were arrested by the police, along with four other people. The participation in the Easter masses was still enormous, as Cardinal Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solorzano explained, according to the Spanish news agency EFE.

 In the parishes as well as in his cathedral, the churches were full at Easter. The procession of the Way of the Cross on Good Friday was held in Managua around the cathedral, with the participation of thousands. The ban on processions was issued at the beginning of the month and caused a stir. 

Even the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights then appealed to the government to withdraw the order against religious freedom, but without success. The measure taken by ruler Daniel Ortega is seen as further reprisals against the church after the severing of all diplomatic relations with the Vatican and the sentence of dissident bishop Rolando Alvarez to 26 years in prison. Pope Francis had already described the Ortega regime as a "dictatorship" in March. 

During his "Urbi et Orbi" speech on Easter Sunday, he called for prayer for the suffering church in the Central American country. The believers there would be prevented from "freely and publicly professing their faith", For years, the Catholic Church in Nicaragua has been the most important voice against the Ortega regime, which has responded with increasing repression. According to the documentation platform "Unidad Nacional Azul y Blanco", 17 people were arrested for taking part in the Good Friday processions that were banned by the state. The journalist Víctor Ticay, who reported on such a procession, was also reportedly arrested. Overall, between April 1 and April 9, the platform registered 21 arbitrary arrests, 14 threats, 9 harassment and the expulsion of two people - including a priest from Panama. Videos circulated on Twitter show youths disguised as Jesus Christ carrying the cross, soldiers and apostles fleeing police officers. Cardinal Brenes spoke of a "Lent with ups and downs" at the Easter celebration in the cathedral of Managua, "but finally we are here". He was glad that, despite the adverse circumstances, the Holy Week celebrations taking place in and around the churches before Easter were so well attended. Thousands also followed the liturgies via live broadcasts from the Archdiocese of Managua on their social networks.