Hartford Courant

Fear follows faith leaders into exile

Priests, nuns scared of retributio­n after fleeing Nicaragua

- By Maria Teresa Hernandez

SAN JOSE, 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 Mas, 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 U.S. 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.

Nicaragua Nunca Mas and CSW, a British-based organizati­on that advocates for religious freedom around the world, say Ortega’s government has targeted evangelica­l pastors as well as Catholic personnel. Yader Valdivia of Nicaragua Nunca Mas said at least 50 evangelica­l churches have been shut down.

The two organizati­ons have gathered testimonie­s from dozens of people — some in exile and some still in Nicaragua — who have described harassment, threats, physical violence and arbitrary detention targeted at a range of religious workers. There are multiple accounts of masked men breaking into churches, theft or destructio­n of religious objects, and the prohibitio­n of religious procession­s.

CSW said parishione­rs are warned not to display holy symbols outside their homes, while detainees are denied visits from clergy and barred from keeping a Bible in prison.

Among the remaining prisoners, the highestpro­file Catholic cleric is Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa. Before his arrest last year, his image was seen around the world as he knelt in front of security forces after being barred from celebratin­g Mass inside his church and deciding to pray in the streets.

An outspoken critic of the government, Alvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison and stripped of his Nicaraguan citizenshi­p Feb. 10, the day after Ortega released and sent to the U.S. the planeload of opposition figures.

In Nicaragua, Catholic leaders’ response to the government’s repression has been muted, apparently in an attempt to not inflame tensions. Commenting last month on Alvarez’s imprisonme­nt, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua — Nicaragua’s capital — said, “Pray that the Lord gives him strength.”

Reynald Gaitan, a former seminarian who met Alvarez in Matagalpa and currently studies theology in Costa Rica, believes that the bishop’s imprisonme­nt could be problemati­c for Ortega.

“If Monsignor were to die, his cause would continue to live because we will always remember him as a martyr,” Gaitan said.

Two priests who were released and exiled on Feb. 9 — after spending several months in a Nicaraguan prison — shared some of their experience­s with Catholic faithful at a recent Mass in Miami.

They described how they had no inkling of their upcoming release until they were told suddenly to change from prison uniforms to their regular clothes and put on buses heading to the airport.

The priests recounted the emotional flight to the U.S., with former prisoners hugging one another and crying with both relief and the sorrow of leaving families behind who are still at risk should they speak publicly about their ordeals.

“When the church seemingly was trying to be a voice for the voiceless ... the Ortega regime went after the church,” said Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, who has met with some of the exiled clergy and seminarian­s.

Nicaragua is the second poorest country in the Americas after Haiti, according to the World Bank. Facing poverty, unemployme­nt and repression, most Nicaraguan­s crave spiritual reassuranc­e. Around 42% of the population is Catholic and 35% evangelica­l.

“The church in Nicaragua plays a very important role,” said the priest interviewe­d by The Associated Press in Costa Rica. “It is the one who cares for the poor, who always tells the truth and remains close to its people.”

He recalls his hometown as a humble place, where parishione­rs are deeply religious. Threats against him surfaced, he said, when he started referring during Mass to the difficult situation facing the church.

Policemen patrolled around the parishes and attended Masses dressed as civilians to monitor what was said during the homily, he recalled. Parishione­rs were frequently interrogat­ed regarding the speeches of their priests.

“There is a lot of fear, even among the lay people who speak out,” he said. “We cannot say anything and, if we do, we know there’s a price to pay.”

Elsewhere in Costa Rica, the AP spoke with one of the Nicaraguan nuns who was expelled last year. Like the priest, she requested anonymity because her family stayed behind.

She remains baffled by the expulsion order, saying her work was devoted to children and the elderly.

“Wherever people saw us, they greeted us. They welcomed us in their homes,” she said.

Her faith remains strong. “I pray for my country,” she said. “I think that everyone does, not just me. We pray so that we can live calmly, in peace.”

 ?? CARLOS GONZALEZ/AP ?? Altar servers lead the opening procession­al at Immaculate Conception of Maria, La Carpio, on Feb. 19 in San Jose, Costa Rica. The majority of the Catholic church’s congregati­on is made up of Nicaraguan exiles and refugees.
CARLOS GONZALEZ/AP Altar servers lead the opening procession­al at Immaculate Conception of Maria, La Carpio, on Feb. 19 in San Jose, Costa Rica. The majority of the Catholic church’s congregati­on is made up of Nicaraguan exiles and refugees.

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