Nicaraguan Regime Implements Harsh Measures Against Catholic Church, Including Deportation of Foreign Religious Workers and Fund Confiscation

Recent reports from lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina reveal that President Daniel Ortega and Vice President Rosario Murillo’s regime in Nicaragua has expelled a group of foreign priests and nuns.

These religious workers were engaged in various activities across the country before being forcibly removed.

Molina shared details from her interview with the Spanish-language edition of EWTN News, explaining that the priests and nuns were summoned to meetings from different congregations and regions.

During these meetings, they were subjected to an indoctrination video featuring the dictatorial couple.

Molina’s findings are part of her ongoing report, “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?”, which has documented 870 instances of attacks by the Nicaraguan dictatorship against the Catholic Church since 2018.

This period also marked widespread protests against the regime’s unpopular reforms.

Threats and Restrictions on Religious Figures

Molina revealed that the religious figures were warned with imprisonment or deportation if they expressed any dissenting views or engaged in activities deemed hostile by the regime.

She noted that while some of these religious workers were deported, others who remained in the country are under constant threat and prohibited from speaking out.

This situation has created a climate of fear among those still serving in Nicaragua.

Confiscation of Retirement Funds

In addition to the deportations, Molina discussed the regime’s move to dissolve 1,500 nonprofit organizations, including numerous Catholic and evangelical groups.

Notably, the priests’ retirement fund, which had been in place for 24 years, was frozen by the dictatorship last year.

Molina explained that this action has severely impacted retired and sick priests, as well as the broader Catholic community that contributed to the fund.

She criticized the Sandinista regime’s approach, accusing it of seizing assets for party benefit and repression, which she believes will not be recovered by the Church.

Molina also highlighted recent legislative measures, including taxes on assets and charitable donations, as part of a broader strategy to stifle the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.

Impact on Catholic Schools

The crackdown has extended to religious schools as well.

Many schools run by different religious orders have had their savings accounts confiscated or frozen since 2020.

The Central American University (UCA) of the Jesuits is a prominent example, having been seized in 2023 and remaining closed.

Molina pointed out that while the regime has not formally taken over the schools yet, there are threats that all tuition fees will be redirected to the Sandinista Front, and education will be heavily monitored.

Official Decision on Nonprofits

The decision to shut down the 1,500 organizations was formalized by ministerial agreement 38-2024-OSFL, published on August 19 in the official government newspaper, La Gaceta.

The agreement mandates that the Attorney General’s office transfer the assets of these organizations to the state.

Molina’s report and observations paint a troubling picture of the current state of religious freedom and civil society in Nicaragua.

This article was published on TDPel Media. Thanks for reading!

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