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In the morning of yesterday, June 30, Pope Francis received Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Archbishop of Managua, accompanied by the Bishop of Matagalpa Rolando Álvarez, two important representatives of the Church Nicaragua, a South American nation affected by a socio-political conflict that has resulted in almost three months – exactly since its outbreak on April 18 – more than 200 deaths during demonstrations against the government. The Church of the country chairs, at the request of the parties, a "Table of Dialogue and Testimony" whose sessions were however suspended for about a week following the escalation of violence.
The Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference explains in a note that the meeting of the Pontiff with Brenes and Álvarez was "very fruitful", but without giving more details about the content of the Vatican's conversation, which – he underlines – will be reported by two prelates upon their return to the country. In some interviews published yesterday, Cardinal Brenes said he informed the pope of the situation in Nicaragua, which is probably "worse" than the one that the country experienced in the two wars that took place in the past. "Then more than 50,000 people died in the hands of armed people, one armed group against another armed group, in this case no," were killed "people walking in the street without a gun or someone else. One behind a barricade, perhaps with a mortar … " According to the cardinal, this crisis can be solved only through dialogue, "a path that the Church is ready to follow by actively participating in it only for the love of the people of Nicaragua".
Today, as thousands of people gathered in Plaza de las Victorias, in central Managua, for the event renamed "Marcia dei Fiori" in memory of the twenty children and adolescents killed during demonstrations against the government, Pope Francis addressed a thought "to the beloved people of Nicaragua" at the end of the Angelus on St. Peter's Square . "I would like to join the efforts of the Bishops and the commitment of those who play a mediating and witnessing role in the process of national reconciliation," said Bergoglio, who in May sent a letter to President Daniel Ortega.
Already on June 3, also during the Angelus the Pope had expressed great "sorrow" for "the serious violence" that struck the nation "with dead and wounded". made by armed groups to suppress social protests. "And he added:" The Church is always for dialogue "which, however," requires an active commitment to respect freedom and especially life. "[19659005] Licenza Creative Commons ” style=”border-width:0″ src=”https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/4.0/88×31.png”/>
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