MANAGUA, Nicaragua (LifeSiteNews) — The communist regime of dictator Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua has arrested six Catholic priests since the beginning of the month in an escalating persecution of the Church and heightened government surveillance of Catholic clergy.
The first three arrests took place on the night of October 1, a fourth occurred the following day, and two more priests were arrested on October 7 and 8. The names of the detained priests are: Fathers Julio Ricardo Norori, Iván Centeno, Cristóbal Gadea, Erick Ramírez Velásquez, Yesner Cipriano Pineda Meneses, and Ramón Esteban Angulo Reyes.
According to reports from Nicaraguan news agency 100% Noticias, Sandinista police appeared at a Catholic church on October 8 “on false pretenses to supposedly take Father Angulo to a meeting. However, the priest never returned and his whereabouts are unknown.”
READ: Jesuits effectively expelled from Nicaragua, properties seized by communist regime
Nicaraguan researcher and lawyer Martha Patricia Molina stated on October 2 on social media that “paramilitaries and police began an intimidation and kidnapping operation against the priests and parishioners.”
“There are three kidnapped priests,” she wrote. “At least five were ‘visited,’ taken away, threatened, and returned. In the Diocese of León there was also intimidation from the police.”
Molina said one result has been that churches have now been deprived of Mass, as some are now without a priest. She accused Ortega’s communist government of monitoring priests “daily” and “taking photographs of them,” stating that she has intel that more priests will be arrested.
She also declared that Ortega’s dictatorship “has not only provoked the imprisonment of six priests, it has led to a wave of persecution against the laymen.”
READ: Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega freezes bank accounts of several Catholic dioceses and priests
The exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio José Báez, lamented the arrests and Ortega’s unabated persecution of the Catholic Church. “Three more priests arrested tonight by the Sandinista dictatorship of Daniel Ortega,” the bishop wrote on X, formerly Twitter. “The fierce persecution against the Catholic Church continues. I ask the Church throughout the world for her prayers for Nicaragua and for our persecuted Church!”
#Nicaragua. Tres sacerdotes más arrestados esta noche por la dictadura sandinista de Daniel Ortega. Continúa la feroz persecución contra la Iglesia Católica. ¡Pido a la Iglesia en el mundo entero sus oraciones por Nicaragua y por nuestra Iglesia perseguida! @xiskya… https://t.co/5XhznK8hEz
— Silvio José Báez (@silviojbaez) October 2, 2023
According to Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa, there are now 13 members of the clergy who have been arrested by the government. Most notably, Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa remains behind bars after being convicted on trumped up charges of being “a traitor to the homeland” following his refusal to abandon his flock by leaving the country. The courageous bishop, an outspoken opponent of the atrocities and oppression of the Ortega regime, was sentenced in February to 26 years in prison. He is the apostolic administrator of the Diocese of Estelí, where several of the arrests of priests took place.
However, the persecution has now been extended to include Catholic laity, with members of the faithful arrested and their homes raided. Some have been released after detainment, but on the condition they return weekly to police headquarters in their municipality for questioning and a check-in with the government. The UN has been alerted of the escalation of religious persecution in the country.
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