but the attacks to churches seem to be intensifying in the last few weeks, according to news sources
¡Ay, Dios mío!
I translate for the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, and Friday 31 July was a nightmare translate-a-thon of nonstop tweets. Yes, the attacks on churches have been intensifying since July 19, when the Sandinista party held its anniversary celebration in Managua, in a socially-distanced, subdued atmosphere in comparison with the raucous
repliegue caravan from Managua to Masaya that the dictator Daniel Ortega and his wife/VP Rosario Murillo preside over every year.
This July 19 was different. Many Nicaraguan Catholics commented on various social media platforms concerning the pentagram that was used in the celebration. No wonder their nickname for Mme. Murillo is “the witch”.
But the attacks on the Church in Nicaragua are decades old. Murders and forced disappearances, torture, arbitrary detention on false charges… all of these are classics in the Ortega playbook. The killing of Sandor Dolmus, an altar server in the Cathedral of León, during the protests in the summer of 2018 engraved indelible images on the collective memory of the nation.
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The
attack on the bishops and priests who went to St. Sebastian Basilica in Diriamba to rescue trapped volunteers 9 July 2018 left Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Baez wounded and stripped of his episcopal insignia. Others in the entourage were wounded that day, as well.
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A few days later,
Washington Post reporter Joshua Partlow was embedded with student protesters at the National Autonomous University of Nicaragua when all hell broke loose. The pastors at Divine Mercy parish, which has a campus ministry, welcomed the students to safety. Or so they thought.
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Even the prayers of local religious sisters could not prevent the bloodbath that ensued. Two students died inside the church, which was under siege by Ortega’s police and paramilitary forces for 15 hours.
I have a seemingly limitless supply of photos and links to share. But the most telling point of all is this:
Bishop Baez says that in the attack on the crucifix in the cathedral 31 July, the Sandinistas are committing all of their crimes against humanity all over again, by attacking the humanity of Christ on the cross, because he has borne all the pain and grief of every murder, every forced disappearance, every victim of torture or rape, every political prisoner in Nicaragua.
Please pray for justice and peace in Nicaragua.