Fear, anxiety follow Nicaraguan faith leaders into exile
SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica — For two hours each afternoon, the Catholic priest listens to confessions behind a glass wall where anyone nearby can spot him. Yet that visibility is deceptive; he yearns to keep his name and exact whereabouts a secret to the outside world.
He began hearing confessions within a few days after recently fleeing to Costa Rica from Nicaragua, where the government has imprisoned religious leaders, activists and numerous outspoken critics of President Daniel Ortega.
The priest agreed to an interview on condition his name and new home base be withheld. He fears for his loved ones, who still live in Nicaragua, and hopes they’ll be safe as long as he remains discreet.
He is not alone. Many priests and nuns in exile worry about reprisal from Ortega and fear going public with their stories.
“There is persecution of the church because the church is the voice of the people,” the priest said.
A human rights organization, Nicaragua Nunca Más, estimates that more than 50 religious leaders have fled since 2018, when a social security reform triggered massive protests. Last year, two congregations of nuns — including from the Missionaries of Charity order founded by Mother Teresa — were expelled.
Other church personnel — including priests, seminarians and lay staff members, were among the 222 Nicaraguans released from detention and forcibly expelled to the United States on Feb. 9.
The priest interviewed in Costa Rica left his Nicaragua hometown so hastily that there was no time for goodbyes. In the sole company of a driver, he travelled by car, then by motorcycle. Once near the Costa Rican border, he walked.
“I miss my people, my nation,” he said, his voice breaking.
Ortega initially asked the Catholic Church to play a role as a mediator as political tensions rose over the past five years, but the first round of dialogue didn’t last long. After priests sheltered demonstrators inside their parishes and expressed concern about excessive use of force, Ortega targeted them as “terrorists” who backed opposition efforts to undermine or overthrow him.