The exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Silvio Báez, who currently resides in the United States, responded earlier this week to the most recent insults and attacks made by the dictator of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, whom the bishop referred to as "corrupt and criminal."
Exiled Nicaraguan Bishop's Response
According to the Catholic News Agency, bishop Báez stated on Twitter, "How much ignorance, how many lies, and how much cynicism! A dictator was giving democracy lessons." The bishop said that Ortega exploits power illegitimately, denouncing the authority Jesus granted to his church; an atheist, corrupt and criminal, avowing Christ inspires him.
Ortega spoke during an event hosted on Feb. 21 to honor the 89th anniversary of the death of General Augusto C. Sandino (1893-1934), an anti-American guerrilla fighter. The Marxist rebels deposed President Anastasio Somoza Debayle in 1979 and gave their movement its name after he was known as Sandinistas. The dictator of Nicaragua took advantage of the situation to launch an assault on the Catholic Church. He claimed that he had been brought up in the Catholic religion. Still, then, after screaming against the Catholic Church, the popes, and Spanish colonization, he asserted that "Christ was always solidary."
The presidents further stated that Christ's message was peace, but they nonetheless subjected him to torture. They put an end to his life. Yet Christ did not pass away; instead, those who crucified him put an end to his physical life. But Christ arose in the peoples, and he lives in the Christian peoples; he does not live by the example that the priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes may give, who are called "mafia."
After accusing the church and the Vatican of committing "crimes," Ortega asked: "How can I have respect for the bishops I knew here in Nicaragua if they were supporters of Somoza?" He said that when he was young, Somoza's funeral took place. The bishops attended and buried Somoza like a prince, like a church cardinal. It was done because Somoza was a henchman who gave all the advantages to the church.
Also Read: Deported Bishop of Diocese of Matagalpa Refused to Leave Nicaragua
Exiled Nicaraguan Bishops
As reported by NPR, Nicaragua gave a Roman Catholic bishop 26 years in jail just one day after the country expelled most of its political detainees to the United States. Bishop Rolando Alvarez did not board the plane to the U.S. on Thursday along with the other 222 political prisoners who were being sent from Nicaragua.
Alvarez was taken into custody for his opposition to the administration of Daniel Ortega, and the trial for his case is scheduled to begin the following week. The bishop has made the call for elections to be held freely. Instead, a judge announced on state television that the priest had been found guilty of being a traitor and had been sentenced to 26 years for his actions. Also, he lost his citizenship in Nicaragua due to this action.
On the other hand, UCA reported that after making their way from Washington to Miami, two Nicaraguan priests who were among the group of more than 200 political prisoners released on Feb. 9 by the administration of Daniel Ortega celebrated Mass with their fellow Nicaraguans who are currently living in exile.
Related Article: President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua calls Catholic Church a "Perfect Dictatorship"
