Hna. María de Lourdes López Munguía, Misionera Franciscana de María. (Foto: GSR)
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Faith, hope 'work miracles,' pope tells people of Nicaragua ahead of Immaculate Conception
… David Agren … In a moving letter, Pope Francis expressed his closeness with the people of Nicaragua as Central American bishops called for a day of prayer for the country on the feast of … his care and mercy." Central American bishops have called earlier for a day of prayer for Nicaragua as the country slides deeper into totalitarianism and constitutional changes threaten … country. "We express our deep solidarity and communion with the people of God in Nicaragua, who often confront a challenging reality," the episcopal secretariat said in a Nov. 28 …
Nicaragua expels bishops' conference's president
… as clergy are forced into exile. Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera of Jinotega was forced to leave Nicaragua after accusing a local Sandinista mayor of sacrilege for disturbing a celebration of … Facebook page, but the page was subsequently inaccessible. Local governments throughout Nicaragua routinely surveil priests during Mass and stage noisy events nearby — such as boxing … of Nicaraguan bishops' conference since 2021, becomes the third bishop expelled from Nicaragua in 2024. Bishop Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa, who was serving a 26-year prison …
Sister on border: Silence from pulpit over immigration 'unbearable'
… parole immigration program, which has allowed refuge to people from places such as Nicaragua, Venezuela, Cuba, Ukraine and Haiti. He also has said he will end Temporary Protected …
Continuing crackdown on churches and NGOs moves Nicaragua further from democracy to authoritarianism
… scholars to research the role of religion in public life in Central America, including Nicaragua. Several hundred Catholic figures have been detained in an ongoing crackdown under … fleeing the country. … Silencing churches … Among the nearly 5,500 nonprofits that closed in Nicaragua between 2018 and 2024 are Catholic, evangelical Christian and historical Protestant … to escape Ortega’s grip – but no longer . … Dangerous path … I have witnessed firsthand Nicaragua’s shift from a country with promising seeds of democracy to violent autocracy. As …
Their churches no longer feel safe. Now Nicaraguans are taking their worship home
… leaders from being imprisoned and hundreds of organizations from being closed. In northern Nicaragua, where Alvicio was born, most of the Indigenous Miskito people are evangelicals. The Moravian Church — to which the deacon belonged — was established in Nicaragua in 1894. Until its closure alongside more than 1,600 nongovernmental organizations last … and 100 against Protestants in the same period. Additionally, said human rights organization Nicaragua Nunca Más, more than 256 evangelical churches have been closed by the government in the …
Women's congregations hit hard in latest crackdown in Nicaragua
… … All but four of the 26 Catholic congregations recently stripped of their legal status in Nicaragua were women religious, but a sister inside the country told Global Sisters Report Aug. … shake their resolve to help people and provide them hope. She also urged Catholics outside Nicaragua to tell others about their plight. "Those of us here, because of the situation, we … as a congregation of Franciscans. The Aug. 19 closures are part of the ongoing attacks on Nicaragua's religious and civic life from the increasingly totalitarian regime of President …
Nicaragua extinguishes legal status for religious orders, evangelical congregations
… producer associations and even the national chess federation. A source familiar with Nicaragua described the Aug. 19 actions as "an extraordinary effort by the Nicaraguan State to … still exercise freedom of association in a minimal way." The human rights group, Colectivo Nicaragua Nunca Más, reported that at least 21 evangelical pastors have been exiled, while three … into the country. It has counted the legal cancellations of about 420 Christian organizations. Nicaragua's evangelical congregations had been perceived as being less outspoken and not drawing …
Ortega government closes Caritas chapter amid wave of arrests in Nicaraguan diocese
… David Agren … OSV News … Nicaragua has revoked the legal status of the Caritas chapter in the Diocese of Matagalpa and …
'We cannot be neutral,' Venezuelan cardinals say, calling for full release of election results
… of priests from pro-government politicians has the country following in the footsteps of Nicaragua, where democracy has disappeared and the church is persecuted. Cardinal Baltazar …
'Parishes are on their own,' says Nicaraguan priest as regime's repression targets diocese
… churchmen have been detained by police and paramilitaries over a weeklong assault in northern Nicaragua, depleting the already demoralized Diocese of Matagalpa — whose leader, Bishop Rolando … Aug. 1 and 2 — with some taken from parishes and parish residences — according to independent Nicaragua media. An octogenarian priest was also detained July 27 in the Diocese of Estelí, where … Society/Council of the Americas, told OSV News. "The church is among the last of these in Nicaragua and this helps explain efforts to bring it to heel." Signs of infighting have appeared …
Venezuelan bishops call for verifying election results as protests over Maduro win intensify
… only a handful of countries have recognized Maduro's victory, including China, Russia, Iran, Nicaragua and Cuba. Brazil, Colombia and Chile have asked for the results to be verified, using …
Nicaraguan government removes Radio María from airwaves
… increasingly infringe on citizens' religious freedom and the ability to worship. On July 9, Nicaragua’s interior ministry extinguished the legal status of Radio María, which … after traveling abroad. Father Rodolfo French, an Indigenous Miskito priest ministering along Nicaragua's remote Caribbean Coast, received a message from the airline telling him that the …
2024 Awards
… J. McElwee … News Story - Long Format (more than 1,200 words) … Honorable Mention Sister in Nicaragua's repression: 'You can't silence the Gospel Rhina Guidos … Award of Merit … Pope's …
Salvadoran lawyers say they've been 'abandoned' in defense of human rights
… man has not been located. Escobar told NCR citizens of Colombia, Guatemala, Venezuela and Nicaragua also have been arrested under the measures and two died in government detention, along …
New clergy arrests, information blackout spark consternation in Belarus
… the pontifical charity Aid to the Church in Need said Belarus ranked second in the world after Nicaragua for the number of arrested Catholic priests, with 10 detained on extremism and treason …
GSR, NCR honored with Associated Church Press awards
… Guidos also won an honorable mention for a news story for reporting on church repression in Nicaragua . Freelancers Luis Donaldo González and Nuri Vallbona won an award of merit for …
Iowans rally to urge repeal of new state law on illegal migration they say is punitive
… are welcome and appreciated in Iowa, according to a news release. Hernández, who was born in Nicaragua, urged the Waterloo City Council April 15 to make a statement of support "so we …
Tom Gumbleton was a bishop cut from a different cloth
… of sanctuary. Tom challenged U.S. foreign policy not only in El Salvador and Guatemala, but in Nicaragua, where the U.S. illegally armed and supported the Contras. In 1987, when I was …
'Bearing witness' to the suffering of the Ukrainian people
… did just that in Central America during the 1980s and 1990s. Many people went to El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras and Guatemala, to bear witness to what American foreign policy was doing …
Sr. Marie de Paul Combo: 'Fun nun' and 'fool for Christ' dies at 99
… El Salvador. Two years later, she joined a Witness for Peace delegation spending a month in Nicaragua. The Sisters of Charity in 1987 appointed Marie de Paul as the community's first social …