Bishop Silvio Báez: 'Irrational and aged power' deprives Nicaragua of freedom and future

Nicaraguan Bishop Silvio Báez, who has been living in exile for seven years, has strongly criticized the government led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo. From the United States, Báez declared that an "irrational and aged power" is stripping Nicaragua of its liberty and future. During a Corpus Christi homily, he drew parallels between the Israelites' journey through the desert toward the promised land and the suffering of Nicaraguans both inside and outside their country. "Let's think about the desert of our people, subjected for years to an irrational and aged power that deprives it of freedom and future; let's think about the desert of uprooting and exile, which many of us have experienced," the bishop stated. Nicaragua has been governed by the 80-year-old Ortega since 2007, amidst accusations of electoral fraud and the elimination of political opposition. Since 2017, he has governed alongside Murillo. International and national organizations accuse the Sandinista government of human rights violations and restricting religious, associative, assembly, press, and expression freedoms. Despite the difficult circumstances, Báez assured his congregation that "there is no desert in which God leaves us abandoned to the mercy of our own strength and does not sustain or nourish us with the strength of his love." He presented Jesus as the "bread" that nourishes with light, truth, strength, and hope, particularly in contrast to authoritarian regimes that employ fear and repression. Báez urged Catholics to believe in Jesus's love and be transformed by his teachings, emphasizing that one cannot receive Christ in the Eucharist while remaining indifferent to the suffering of the poor, disqualifying those who think differently, promoting divisions, or ignoring injustice. Nicaragua has been in a political and social crisis since April 2018, which intensified after the controversial general elections in November 2021, where Ortega secured a fifth term.

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Frente a regímenes autoritarios que someten mediante el miedo y la represión, Jesús es el pan que nos nutre de fortaleza y esperanza. Delante de poderosos desquiciados que tergiversan la historia, llamando paz a la represión y bendición a la esclavitud, Jesús es el pan que sostiene nuestros sueños de libertad y nos impide ser engañados