Nicaragua bars priests from anointing the dying in hospitals

A priest administers the Anointing of the Sick. / Credit: Kristina Ismulyani/Shutterstock

ACI Prensa Staff, Nov 13, 2024 / 14:35 pm (CNA).

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, is preventing priests from entering hospitals in Nicaragua to administer the sacrament of anointing of the sick to those who need it, according to lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?”

Approximately 10 priests from different dioceses have confirmed the situation to Molina, who nevertheless noted — in an interview with the Spanish edition of EWTN News — that a few other priests are allowed to enter hospitals, “but these are priests with some sort of ties to the dictatorship; they sometimes have the possibility of entering hospitals, but it’s not something widespread,” she explained.

The lawyer commented that before this year the Sandinista dictatorship allowed priests to enter health care facilities. Security measures have been tightened without any justification and the persecution becomes more severe when priests try to enter with clerical garb, which is why many choose to try entering wearing secular clothing.

Molina said the problem is even more serious in the country’s interior, “where priests are more recognized because the towns are very small, so the authorities, the doctors who are in the hospitals or the people who are manning the gates at the hospital entrance, already know them and are quicker to bar them from entering.”

“In other places, for example in the capital, the people who are manning the entrances to the hospitals don’t recognize all the clergy of the Archdiocese of Managua, so they have a better chance of getting in, but not dressed as priests; instead they are going in as laymen to provide the anointing of the sick for people who are about to die,” she explained.

Pro-Ortega mayor disrespects Mass

At Sunday Mass on Nov. 10, Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera of Jinotega and president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference, called out the pro-Ortega mayor of Jinotega, Leonidas Centeno, who was interfering with the Eucharistic celebration by blasting loud music in front of the cathedral.

“Brothers [and sisters], 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’m going to tell them so because they know the time of the Mass, and we’re also supporting [them] because after Mass we’re going to see each other over there; that’s why we are all failing God. So let us ask God for forgiveness for them and for us,” the bishop said. The Mass was broadcast live on the diocesan Facebook page.

Molina also referred to this incident on her X account, calling Centeno a “paramilitary” and pointing out that he is a “mayor sanctioned” by the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

“Sacrilegious, he doesn’t allow Christians to hear the Eucharistic celebration. He’s a criminal who has no limits and whose crimes have gone unpunished,” the lawyer charged.

She concluded her message with the hashtags #iglesiaperseguidani (persecuted Church Nicaragua) and #SOSNicaragua.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.