[ad_1]
DIRIAMBA, Nicaragua – A pro-government crowd jostled, punched and scratched Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes and other Catholic leaders as they tried to enter the Basilica of San Sebastián. "The murderers!" Shouted people. An auxiliary bishop was slashed on the arm with a kind of sharp object.
The ugly scene in the normally sleepy town of Diriamba, an hour's drive south of the capital of Nicaragua, was a dramatic example of the crisis. The church has attempted to mediate between the Sandinista government of Ortega and protesters who are increasingly demanding its ousting amidst demonstrations and clashes in which approximately 450 people – the most of them are demonstrating.
Instead, he finds himself increasingly targeted by Ortega and his followers, reviving hostility between the Sandinista base and the church that burned during the 1980s, but which seemed to have been overcome in recent years. years. the guerrilla commander had formed a sort of alliance with the bishops formerly critical
Brenes, the archbishop of Managua, went to Diriamba o On July 9, a day after talking to the priests by telephone and have heard gunshots and ambulances. He found doctors and nurses who tended to hurt protesters and who were now taking refuge inside the basilica, surrounded by pro-government forces
"They were afraid to enter the church. Church to pull out the people who took refuge here. " said the priest, the Reverend Cesar Alberto Castillo Rodriguez.
Despite the clash at the door, the Brenes delegation, which included the Vatican's highest diplomat in Nicaragua, was finally able to evacuate people from the church.
weeks later, despite a massive police presence, the church is covered with pro-government graffiti.
"My commander remains," reads a scribble, an allusion to Ortega, and others contain vulgar insults. They are signed "JS" for the initials in Spanish language of the Sandinista youth, a pro-government organization that served as shock troops against the protesters.
The Basilica finally resumed its services, but like many parishes in Nicaragua, it stopped mass at night when police and pro-Ortega armed gangs reigned in the streets.
"We realized that people were not coming," said Brenes
The church, essentially the last independent institution Much of Nicaraguans is witnessing the changes induced by the whiplash of women. Ortega, who seems to have regained his footing in the most serious challenge to his power in the decade, more since he resumed his duties.
In April, the president asked the church to arbitrate the peace talks. But the dialogue quickly failed when it became clear that he would not proceed with the elections scheduled for 2021.
Last week, Ortega accused the bishops of being associated with the putschists and of allow the storage of weapons in churches – without providing evidence – and said that they were "disqualified" as mediators.
A few days later, he reiterated his course, saying that he hoped that the church would continue to publicize and insist that the government would not persecute him
"Ortega's strategy with the church has always been either to charm or to intimidate, "said Henri Gooren, an anthropologist at the University of Oakland, Michigan, and publisher of the Encyclopedia of Latin American Religions. I think he's discovered that the charm does not work … so all he can do now is try to intimidate them, try to take away their credibility. "
By his verbal attacks, Ortega "told his followers, especially pro-government gangs," You can go ahead and beat priests and bishops and vandalize church buildings without no punishment, "said Gooren
this week, Brenes and his bishops met. only option that he sees to stop the violence. While the discussion of Nicaragua's "democratization" was not about Ortega's refusal to step down, the negotiators were able to get help for the arrested protesters, the peaceful withdrawal of some barricades and access by international observers such as the OAS. he sees it, without the dialogue being even more dead.
The 69-year-old Cardinal may also have a long-term vision, because he has already experienced this.
Interviewed on the patio of his modest Managua house, Brenes recalled that decades ago, as a young priest, he housed young people who supported the Sandinista Front of Ortega while he was in charge. they were persecuted by the national guards of the dictatorship of Somoza
and in 1979 transferred to a parish of Jinotepe. the fighters took his church. One day, a sniper trapped him in the parsonage with a woman and a girl that he had shot inside. They hid under a sink for three days surviving on biscuits and a bag of pinol, cornstarch and chocolate powder mixed with water or milk
. the mountains of Matagalpa and came and went between the representatives of both sides who refused even to approach each other.
After Ortega's speech calling the bishop putschists, Brenes said that he looked for the Spanish word, "Golpista", in the dictionary, and what he found was the Antithesis of what he's trying to do.
"I read there:" Someone who acts to take power, "said Brenes." Well, it's not me. Ortega has repeatedly clashed with conservative Church authorities when his Socialist Sandinistas ruled in the 1980s – a time when many young leftist priests openly supported former guerrillas, infuriating Pope John Paul II.
Ortega worked to repair relationships with the church after losing elections in the 1990s and, when he took power again in 2006, he frequently demonstrated piety and formed a friendship. with the leader of the Nicaraguan church, the late Miguel Obando When the new wave of protests erupted in April – firstly because of cuts in the social security system – government forces and young Sandinists fought back harshly.
On April 20, hundreds of protesters took refuge in Managua. the cathedral, where the church collected donations to support the protesters. When the police and the Sandinista Youth came down, the students retreated inside, leaving behind the passage of the clergy only their passage safely.
Brenes and several bishops made public statements against violence and for dialogue. The episcopal conference then issued a more forceful condemnation of the repression and urged the authorities "to hear the cry of the young Nicaraguans."
The Vatican has been mostly silent about the conflict, differing as it usually does behind the scenes diplomacy as the local church manages the situation on the ground.
Last week, Pope Francis' ambassador to Nicaragua issued a statement expressing "the pontiff's deep concern over the grave situation"
. Diriamba, supporters of Ortega ransacked the parish of Santiago Apostol in Jinotepe, throwing benches on the stoop shouting that the church was harboring terrorists
The most horrific incident occurred in Jesus Church of Divine Mercy in Managua. At 3 pm on the night of July 13-14, armed government supporters shot at the church while 155 student protesters who had been dislodged from a nearby university were under the benches. A student who was shot in the head on a barricade on the outside died on the floor of the presbytery
Brenes is sure to arrive at the Cathedral of the City
The facade of Divine Mercy is always looted. A small chapel behind the main sanctuary suffered the heaviest fire; towers pierced a picture of Jesus Christ and ricocheted over the gold-plated box containing the sacrament.
Last Sunday, 56-year-old parishioner Nelly Harding wiped tears out of the chapel: God's house, do not respect the lives of defenseless people, what can we expect? "
Curé Erick Alvarado Cole stated that the police had not come to investigate and that the scars of the building would remain as they were 19659002]" These holes in the walls, the Christ, the side chapel, the windows , will remain as evidence of the suffering of the Nicaraguan people, "said Alvarado." If it's repaired, it's as if nothing had happened. "
Nicole Winfield, editor of the Associated Press, contributed to this report from Rome.
Source link
