Cardinal Parolin: There is concern in the Vatican about religious freedom in Nicaragua

The Vatican Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, stated on Saturday at the UN that there is concern in the Holy See about the measures adopted in Nicaragua that are affecting religious freedom.

“The Holy See follows with great attention what is happening in Nicaragua and is especially concerned about the measures adopted against the personnel and institutions of the Church, which directly affect the very sensitive issue of religious freedom,” stated the cardinal before the General Assembly of the United Nations.

For this reason, he pointed out that “it is expected that, along with the other fundamental rights of individuals and society, this freedom will be adequately protected.”

“For its part,” he stated, “the Holy See is open to a respectful and constructive dialogue with the country’s authorities, with a view to resolving difficulties and promoting peace, fraternity and harmony for the benefit of all.”

Currently there is no official diplomatic relationship between the Vatican and Nicaragua, since on March 17, 2023, the Apostolic Nunciature in Managua was closed at the request of the Sandinista regime of Daniel Ortega.

The diplomatic headquarters had remained in charge of Bishop Marcel Diouf, who assumed the role of chargé d’affaires after the Nicaraguan government had expelled the Apostolic Nuncio, Bishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, in March 2022.

However, these have not been the only measures of the regime against the Catholic Church, since since the crisis broke out in 2018, religious congregations have been expelled, Catholic institutions have been closed and a large number of priests have been detained.

According to the fifth edition of the report Nicaragua, a persecuted church?by researcher and lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, as of July 2024, 143 priests have been expelled, which represents almost a quarter of the Nicaraguan clergy.

Several bishops have also had to leave the country or have been exiled. The best known case is that of Mons. Rolando Álvarez, Bishop of Matagalpa and Apostolic Administrator of Estelí.

The prelate was sentenced in February 2023 to 26 years in prison and stripped of his Nicaraguan nationality. The regime accused him of being a “traitor to the country.”

On January 14, 2024, local media reported that Bishop Rolando Álvarez had been deported to the Vatican, along with 15 priests and 2 seminarians, and the Bishop of Siuna, Bishop Isidoro Mora.