From the heart of Nicaragua, a priest in that nation says the Church is sustaining the peopleʼs faith from “the catacombs of prudence” in the face of fierce persecution by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo.
The priest, who asked to remain anonymous for security reasons and to avoid reprisals, spoke with ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News, on July 3 immediately following the second time the bishop emeritus of Estelí, Abelardo Mata, was detained.
According to a source consulted by ACI Prensa who is close to the Church in Nicaragua, the bishop “is reportedly not under house arrest, and his whereabouts are unknown,” as he has not returned to his residence.
The priest stated that “it’s true that from the outside it can look like apparent silence; this should not be confused with indifference or paralyzing fear. It is in reality a silence born of prudence and profound pastoral responsibility.”
After noting that the dictatorship “has relegated the faith to the private sphere” or “within the walls of the churches,” the priest pointed out that several bishops are in exile.
“The absence of bishops in such important dioceses as Estelí, Jinotega, Matagalpa, and Siuna is also a direct blow to our Church and our community. Although we place our full trust in the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the lack of a visible [head] hinders administration, pastoral ministry, and ecclesial cohesion,” the priest noted.
For some time now, the dictatorship has banned the ordination of priests and deacons in these dioceses.
The priest emphasized: “We are carrying on then, but under the weight of fragmentation, and we also live in a state of constant uncertainty.”
‘Even the walls have ears’
The priest recounted that currently in Nicaragua “the proclamation of the Gospel and daily preaching take place under enormous pressure with the knowledge that any word or message can be misinterpreted or used to label us as opponents or destabilizers.”
“The surveillance is real; it’s constant. We say here that ‘even the walls have ears.’ And this has even taken its toll on internal communication, often sowing mistrust, something almost bound to happen in an environment where control is the norm,” he added.
Indeed, the police harass the priests, taking their photographs and demanding to be informed of every time they leave their parishes or go outside their parish boundaries. If any social issue is mentioned in their homilies, they risk imprisonment or exile.
The Church’s ‘silence’
The priest also explained to ACI Prensa that “we bishops and priests who remain in the country must act discreetly, with extreme discretion. This is not cowardice — no. It’s astuteness, I would say — like the cunning of the serpent and the simplicity of the dove that Jesus Christ speaks of in the Gospel.”
“Every step, every word, must be calculated so as not to cross that invisible line that would justify an accusation of insurrection, allowing us to continue accompanying the people entrusted to us. Ultimately, the Church in Nicaragua has not disappeared. No, it has not surrendered. It is resisting. We are resisting in silence,” he emphasized.
“We are sustaining the people’s faith from the catacombs of prudence, awaiting times of greater freedom.”
The priest said he also understands “the Vatican’s silence. In this regard, ecclesial communion does not depend solely on public statements. We know there are prayers and diplomatic gestures that do not draw attention; at this moment, the last thing the people of Nicaragua need is to create further divisions — rather, they need to keep hope alive within the Church.”
‘We don’t feel alone’
“When one member suffers, the whole body suffers with it. We don’t feel alone. Because of this we know that the Church suffers with us. The Church feels with us, and the entire universal Church sustains us, even though the forms and ways of that support must be discreet; that’s something that must be understood,” the Nicaraguan priest reflected.
“Those who apply pressure or claim we are doing nothing from within [the country] should also understand this. We are protecting that very pastoral work on the ground so that the people of God are not left abandoned,” he added.
The priest said he hopes “to be able to act freely one day and live out our faith in freedom, but for now, this is the reality we are living.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
