By CatholicVote | Created at 2024-11-15 23:31:13 | Updated at 2024-11-23 08:08:24
1 week ago
CV NEWS FEED // In another attack on Christians in Nicaragua, the country’s dictatorship this week expelled Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera of Jinotega and exiled him to Guatemala.
Bishop Herrera is the president of the Nicaraguan Episcopal Conference and is the third bishop expelled by dictator Daniel Ortega this year, Christian Daily reported.
According to Catholic News Agency (CNA), Bishop Herrera was expelled after he criticized a pro-Ortega mayor for intentionally playing loud music outside the cathedral to disrupt the Mass.
“Before beginning this Eucharist, we ask the Lord for forgiveness for our faults and also for those who do not respect worship. This is a sacrilege — what the mayor and all the municipal authorities are doing — and I am going to tell them so because they know the time of the Mass,” Herrera said during Mass on November 10, according to CNA.
Herrera was abducted by police and exiled to Guatemala on November 13, CNA reported. He is currently residing at a Franciscan residence there, as he is a member of the Order of Friars Minor.
CatholicVote previously reported that Ortega’s dictatorship has been targeting Catholic and Christian communities in Nicaragua for several years. In early November, authorities banned priests from administering Last Rites at public hospitals.
In 2024 alone, the government has arrested several priests, seized the assets of Caritas Diocesan Association of Matagalpa, and revoked the legal status of the country’s Catholic radio station, among other targeted acts.
According to Open Doors, an organization monitoring levels of Christian persecution across the world, the current persecution level in Nicaragua is “very high.” The country is ranked as No. 30 in the world’s most dangerous places to be a Christian.
