• Latest
  • All
Daniel José Ortega - Image from Flickr

“Political messianism” behind the persecution of Christians in Nicaragua

February 22, 2022
What a way to celebrate July Fourth! The Supreme Court’s monumental decision protecting parents’ inalienable rights

What a way to celebrate July Fourth! The Supreme Court’s monumental decision protecting parents’ inalienable rights

July 2, 2025
Texas law mandates Ten Commandments in classrooms

Texas law mandates Ten Commandments in classrooms

June 25, 2025
Father’s Day heroes: finding the treasure beneath the hearth

Father’s Day heroes: finding the treasure beneath the hearth

June 15, 2025
Credit: ADF International

Belgian police arrest protestors over signs criticizing transgender mutilation

June 10, 2025
Left-wing riots over immigration in Los Angeles undermine law and order

Left-wing riots over immigration in Los Angeles undermine law and order

June 10, 2025
Oregon middle school openly undermines parental rights with “Spirit Pride Week”

Oregon middle school openly undermines parental rights with “Spirit Pride Week”

June 9, 2025
Kentucky’s abortion ban upheld after lawsuit dropped

Kentucky’s abortion ban upheld after lawsuit dropped

June 4, 2025
Jersey’s trans inclusion guidance sparks parental outrage

Jersey’s trans inclusion guidance sparks parental outrage

May 27, 2025
IOF’s joint statement for the 2022 Commission on the Status of Women

Protect and Promote Your National Treasure! IOF’s joint statement for the 2025 International Day of Families

May 15, 2025
Former Louisville University professor wins $1.6 million over dismissal for criticism of transgender treatments for children

Former Louisville University professor wins $1.6 million over dismissal for criticism of transgender treatments for children

April 26, 2025
  • About iFamNews
  • Contact

Navigation Button Subscribe

  • Subscribe
July 9, 2025
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
  • English
    • Italiano
    • Español
    • Français
    • Deutsch
    • Polski
    • српски
    • Русский
    • Hrvatski

Navigation Button Donate

  • Donate
International Family News Network (IFN)
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Family
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Shows
  • Petitions
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
International Family News Network (IFN)
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Family
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Shows
  • Petitions
  • Subscribe
  • Donate
No Result
View All Result
International Family News Network (IFN)
No Result
View All Result

“Political messianism” behind the persecution of Christians in Nicaragua

Not only does the Daniel Ortega government see itself as “the national savior (and) liberator" of Nicaragua, it also labels Catholic bishops in the country "terrorists".

iFamNews Italia by iFamNews Italia
February 22, 2022
in Foreground, Politics
440
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0
Daniel José Ortega - Image from Flickr

Image from Flickr

Share on FacebookShare on WhatsAppShare on TelegramShare on TwitterShare on WeChat

Last updated on February 24th, 2022 at 12:23 pm

An assault on religious freedom dictated by “political messianism” is taking place in Nicaragua. The denunciation comes from Christopher Ljungquist, counselor for Latin America in the Office for International Justice and Peace of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The protests of 2018

The resurgence of persecution began in Nicaragua after protests against reforms to the public pension system in April 2018. The demonstrations came after about a decade of deteriorating economic conditions in the country. The protesters, mostly students, demanded democratic reforms and the resignation of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, as they would establish a despotism marked by nepotism and repression. As a result of the protests there have been hundreds of casualties.

Political Messianism

In 2021, however, the backdrop for the religious freedom violations would not have been the protests, but the period leading up to the November general elections won by Ortega for a fourth consecutive term. Ljungquist states that the government operates today considering itself “the savior of the fatherland, the national liberator.”

The accusation against the Catholic Church

Now, in the early days of the 2018 protests Ortega asked the Catholic Church to act as a mediator. But his administration also began to use brutal force against the protesters and later against the clergy, who were allegedly accused of aiding and hiding the protesters.

Christian Symbology and New Age

Ortega’s speeches, Ljungquist explains, “are a theatrical and flamboyant form of political preaching,” in which “Christian symbolism and an occultism with a New Age flavor” are combined. Like most totalitarian ideologies, “Sandinism is hegemonic,” he adds. And Ortega “is trying to bring the entire Nicaraguan society, particularly religion, under the ideological control of his own movement.” In this context, conflict is “inevitable” when an institution like the Catholic Church calls the government to account because “political messiahs don’t like to be questioned.” According to Ljungquist, the apparent reason behind anti-Christian persecution is “to obtain silence…through intimidation.”

Attacks

Ljungquist says that in 2020 a cathedral was attacked in what Managua’s archbishop, Cardinal Leopoldo José Brenes Solórzano, called a “terrorist attack.” “A 400-year-old crucifix, brought from Spain, was severely damaged”; and while physical assaults were mostly concentrated between 2018 and 2020, “coded verbal attacks” continue.

In October Ortega ha del retso called the Catholic bishops “terrorists,” claiming, in the most classic style of totalitarianism, that the 2018 protests were a coup d’état hatched by foreign powers. Since Nicaragua has very specific anti-terrorism legislation, Ljungquist says a statement like this “sounds like a threat.”

Tags: Catholic ChurchDaniel OrtegaNew AgeNicaraguapolitical messianismReligious FreedomRosario Murillo
iFamNews Italia

iFamNews Italia

Articles published by the Italian iFamNews editorial team.

Discussion about this post

Popular News

  • What a way to celebrate July Fourth! The Supreme Court’s monumental decision protecting parents’ inalienable rights

    What a way to celebrate July Fourth! The Supreme Court’s monumental decision protecting parents’ inalienable rights

    0 shares 60 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Barcelona court rejects Noelia’s euthanasia until the sentence is firm

    0 shares 34 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Texas law mandates Ten Commandments in classrooms

    0 shares 34 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Observatory for Religious Freedom demands respect for religious and educational freedom in Catalonia in the face of attacks against the subject of Religion.

    0 shares 28 VIEWS
    Share 0 Tweet 0

IFN – International Family News Network

© 2022 IFN – International Family News - All Rights Reserved.

Quick Links

  • About iFamNews
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy

Follow Us

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password? Sign Up

Create New Account!

Fill the forms below to register

All fields are required. Log In

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
Subscribe

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Family
  • Culture
  • Politics
  • Entertainment
  • Science
  • Shows
  • Petitions
  • Subscribe
  • Donate

  • en English
  • it Italiano
  • es Español
  • fr Français
  • de Deutsch
  • pl Polski
  • sr српски
  • ru Русский
  • hr Hrvatski
  • Login
  • Sign Up

© 2022 IFN – International Family News - All Rights Reserved.