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Nicaraguan bishop condemns dictators who invoke Jesus to entrench themselves in power
🇵🇾 Paraguay /Elections & Politics

Nicaraguan bishop condemns dictators who invoke Jesus to entrench themselves in power

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire Named sources Approved/passed
  • Exiled Nicaraguan Bishop Silvio Báez accused “worn-out dictatorships” of using Jesus and religion to legitimize authoritarian rule.
  • Nicaragua’s legislature plans to advance a constitutional reform that would bar denaturalized opposition figures from elections.
  • The reform follows changes that extended President Daniel Ortega’s term and his statement that elections would not return as a route for the opposition to seize power.

Bishop Silvio Báez delivered a sharp rebuke of governments that invoke Jesus while consolidating power, saying authoritarian rulers misuse religion to justify their control. The Nicaraguan bishop, who lives in exile in the United States, criticized the government co-led by Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo.

Whenever we try to put ourselves ahead of Jesus, instead of following behind him, we stop being his disciples and lose our way.

— Silvio BáezThe bishop criticized rulers who invoke Jesus while exercising political power.

“Whenever we try to put ourselves ahead of Jesus, instead of following behind him, we stop being his disciples and lose our way,” Báez said in a homily. He added that “worn-out dictatorships” that hypocritically shelter behind religion profane Jesus’ name when they invoke him from positions of power and attribute their control over the people to him, while never speaking of the cross.

Báez said autocrats “appropriate the name of Jesus to legitimize their authoritarianism.” Pope Francis ordered him to leave Nicaragua in 2019 for security reasons.

Worn-out dictatorships that hypocritically shelter behind religion profane the name of Jesus when they invoke him from power and attribute to him the control they exercise over the people, but never speak of the cross.

— Silvio BáezBáez condemned the use of religion to legitimize authoritarian rule.

The political dispute comes as Nicaragua prepares to advance a constitutional reform on Sept. 21. The measure would exclude denaturalized opposition figures, whom authorities describe as “traitors to the homeland,” from elections. The reform must pass in two separate legislative sessions before taking effect.

Autocrats appropriate the name of Jesus to legitimize their authoritarianism.

— Silvio BáezHe described how dictators use religious language to defend their authority.

Nicaragua had been scheduled to hold general elections in November 2026, but earlier constitutional amendments extended the presidential term, moving the expected vote to November 2027. On July 19, Ortega said at a public event in Managua marking the 47th anniversary of the Sandinista revolution: “There will be no more elections here for them to try to seize the government, to seize power.”

There will be no more elections here for them to try to seize the government, to seize power.

— Daniel OrtegaOrtega made the statement at a Managua event commemorating the Sandinista revolution.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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