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Nicaragua blocked the bank accounts of all the dioceses within the territory, according to ecclesiastical sources in the country. The bishops have not received an official notification from the banking entities, however, they are unable to dispose of the cash within the accounts of their entities.
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So far, neither the government authorities nor the banks responsible for the blocked accounts have made a public statement on the matter, however, multiple members of the Nicaraguan Catholic Church have reported problems with their parish accounts.
The exiled Nicaraguan lawyer, Martha Patricia Molina, published on her Twitter profile screenshots from the cell phone of the person in charge of the accounts of the Archdiocese of Managua, where different failed attempts to make bank transfers from the account are shown.
“Freezing the accounts is a serious blow to the Church, because it also has commitments to pay. Even houses of formation are being affected, where there are forms to pay, receipts for basic services and other expenses,” Molina mentioned to the newspaper ‘El País’.
Persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua
“The blocking of the bank accounts of various dioceses of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua is an extreme act of aggression and persecution of the Church,” declared Félix Maradiaga, a member of the political opposition to the Central American government and who was denationalized by it.
The Government headed by Daniel Ortega has generated great tensions with the members of the Catholic Church in the country, since the religious institution has been vocal in its complaints about authoritarianism and abuse of power in Nicaragua.
This has caused multiple expulsions and imprisonments of ecclesiastical authorities in Nicaraguan territory. The most recent was the arrest of the priest Jaime Iván Montecinos, investigated for “committing acts that undermine the independence, sovereignty and self-determination of the nation.”
A “rude dictatorship”
Tensions between the Catholic Church and the Sandinista government have escalated to high levels on both sides. On March 10, the highest authority of Catholicism, Pope Francis, described the Executive of Daniel Ortega as “a rude dictatorship”, also adding that the Nicaraguan leader has an “imbalance”.
In response to the statements, the Nicaraguan Administration severed its diplomatic relations with the Vatican, which generated general unrest in the Catholic community within the country.
Félix Maradiaga mentions that, due to the “moral weight of the church in Nicaragua, it is an obstacle to the Ortega-Murillo plans to consolidate a dynastic dictatorship.” Since 2018, the Central American country has been experiencing an intense political crisis, crowned by the controversial fourth re-election of President Ortega in 2021.
With EFE and local media
