Miami prays for Nicaragua

By Rocio Granados - La Voz Catolica

MIAMI | After Maribel Molina's niece was kidnapped, badly beaten, abused and abandoned in the street by the Nicaraguan police two years ago, she and her family had to take refuge in another country.

Molina and her family members were participating in the 2019 protest marches against the regime of Daniel Ortega, who has been in power for 15 uninterrupted years. They arrived in Miami a year ago fleeing persecution and threats from the regime that had identified them.

"Support the priests of Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan Catholic people and people of all religions because we are being persecuted. The government does not want religious people, does not want anyone in opposition," Molina said.

She was among nearly 1,200 people who attended a Mass for peace in Nicaragua on Aug. 22, 2022, the feast of Mary, Queen of Heaven, at St. Michael the Archangel Church in Miami. Archbishop Thomas Wenski celebrated the Mass along with Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez of Managua, Nicaragua, and several archdiocesan priests with ties to the Nicaraguan community.

The Mass also included prayers for Bishop Rolando Álvarez, of Matagalpa, and for the other religious who were detained by the police on Aug. 19.

"They have said that Bishop Alvarez is at home, that is, he is under house arrest. They have said he is well, but we have not seen him. We will not know if he is well until we see him," said Molina.

She added that Bishop Álvarez was detained "because he supports all the people of Nicaragua, all of us who are demanding freedom, all of us who are Catholics like him and follow him. He is being persecuted for wanting to fight for his freedom."

"In his homilies, Bishop Álvarez spoke very strongly against the abuses that the government is carrying out against the people of Nicaragua, and they wanted to silence him," said Hope Cant, a Nicaraguan who has been in exile for many years and who expressed concern about the detainees in Nicaraguan jails.

At the beginning of the Mass, the hundreds of attendees chanted in support of their pastor. "¡Rolando, amigo, el pueblo está contigo!" (Rolando, our friend, the people are with you!)

"Brothers and sisters, today Nicaragua is present in this temple. It is present in the person of its bishop," Archbishop Wenski said, referring to Bishop Báez, who has been living in exile since 2019 after receiving countless threats against his life and his family.

"It is present in the clergy. Nicaragua is present in the people of God gathered here," the archbishop told one of the largest groups of Nicaraguan exiles in the United States.

In his homily, the Archbishop asked Our Lady's intercession for peace in Nicaragua and "not that the little shepherds be freed, but that a shepherd be freed, Msgr. Rolando Álvarez, bishop of Matagalpa, who also stands firm with courage in speaking the truth about what he sees."

In recounting the events leading up to the bishop’s arrest, Archbishop Wenski noted that on Aug. 13, the Church of Nicaragua wanted to carry out a procession with the image of Our Lady of Fatima, who was visiting to bring hope to a people overwhelmed by the repression of their government. But for "internal security reasons" the national police prohibited the event.

"Despite the refusal of the police, the faithful — about two thousand people — gathered in the cathedral of Managua to receive the venerated image," said the archbishop.

Referring to the crisis with the government, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, archbishop of Managua, said that day in his homily: We meet "with great joy, but also with great sadness" due to "the situation we have experienced in our parishes."

Archbishop Wenski recalled that also on Aug. 13, but 105 years ago, the little shepherds of Fatima, to whom the Blessed Virgin appeared, were arrested and threatened by the mayor of the town if they did not recant and declare that what they had reported was a fraud.

"Although they were very young, children of humble parents, they refused to deny the truth of what they had seen and heard. The mayor and his henchmen thought they could strike fear into the hearts of these shepherd children, but they failed. In fact, when the day was over, the children were released, and it was the mayor and his people who were afraid," the archbishop said.

"We remember the kidnapping of the Fatima shepherds and the kidnapping of a pastor in Nicaragua and the harassment of so many of the faithful. This reminds us that 'Faith, which seems weak, is the true strength of the world!' Love is stronger than hatred. The people of Nicaragua also have to examine the sad situation they have been living for too long now through the lens of faith. God will have the last word. Love always wins," said Archbishop Wenski.

The attack on Bishop Álvarez began on Aug. 4, with his detention and that of eight others at the bishop's house in Matagalpa. The Nicaraguan police did not allow them to receive food or medicine. Then, on Aug. 19, they were kidnapped by the same police, who a few hours later, in a statement, announced that they had all been taken to Managua. Bishop Álvarez is under "house arrest" and the others are in a prison known for torture, called El Chipote.

It was this series of events that caused religious leaders in Nicaragua and other countries to raise their voices against Ortega's abuse towards the Church in that country.

In a video posted on his social networks that same day, Aug. 19, Archbishop Wenski denounced the kidnapping of the bishop and asked people "to pray a lot for the people of Nicaragua and for their Church."

Pope Francis also spoke out on Aug. 21 in St. Peter's Square. "I am closely following, with concern and sorrow, the situation that has developed in Nicaragua, involving people and institutions. I would like to express my conviction and my hope that through means of open and sincere dialogue, one can still find the basis for respectful and peaceful coexistence."

Since 2018 there have been countless attacks against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua.

"The leftist regime of President Daniel Ortega continues its persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua, with various acts of repression," Archbishop Wenski said.

Last March, the Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua, Archbishop Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag, was expelled by the Ortega regime. This was followed by the expulsion of Mother Teresa’s Missionaries of Charity, without explanation. In addition, the regime has closed Catholic television and radio stations throughout the country.

Although Bishop Báez did not speak during the Aug. 22 Mass, he called for the release of Bishop Álvarez in another Mass held earlier at St. Agatha Church in Miami.

"We must demand freedom. We must not negotiate with them. We must demand freedom because they are innocent." And he added, "I want to let them know that I am suffering a lot and praying a lot for you, for Nicaragua and for our Church."