The tough fight that the regime of Daniel Ortega has with the Catholic Church of Nicaragua had a new chapter this Friday with the prohibition that the Police – controlled by the dictator – made around a procession with the image of a virgin.
The Archdiocese of Managua reported that a procession with the pilgrim image of the Virgin of Fatima, convened for this Saturday, was not authorized.
In addition, in a statement released with the news, the Archdiocese warned that “bearing witness to tolerance and a spirit of peace, in the circumstances that our country is currently experiencing, it informs our priests and the Catholic faithful that the National Police has communicated that for reasons of internal security the development of the procession scheduled for 7:00 am on August 13 is not allowed.
The statement was signed by Nicaraguan Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, who added that the activity was planned on the occasion of the National Marian Congress, which began last Sunday and ended with the pilgrimage of the image of Our Lady of Fatima.
Therefore, the Archdiocese of Managua invited all the Catholic faithful to offer a day of fasting and prayer “for the conversion of all,” and to attend this Saturday “directly to the Managua Cathedral, arriving on foot or in their private vehicles, doing so peacefully to pray for the Church and Nicaragua.”
“We will meet at eight in the morning for the processional entrance in the atrium of the Cathedral of the Image of Our Lady of Fatima, pray the Holy Rosary and then participate in the mass, which will be presided over by the archbishop, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes and all the archdiocesan clergy”, Cardinal Brenes specified.
This prohibition adds to the investigation of Bishop Rolando Álvarez, whom the National Police accuses of trying to “organize violent groups”, for which he has been besieged and held in an Episcopal Palace for nine days along with four other priests and five lay people.
Also, in Ortega’s confrontation with the church, eight Catholic radio stations were ordered to close, three Catholic channels were excluded from subscription television programming, and a parish was forced into and raided.
The fight continues
