Did Pope Frances, the Vatican, and the Nicaraguan Catholic hierarchy all knuckle under Daniel Ortega’s dictatorial will?
By Enrique Saenz (Confidencial)
HAVANA TIMES – Clearly, it’s a very sensitive matter, because there’s always the risk of wounding consciences. It’s also very serious, since it concerns the rights of the great majority of the Nicaraguan population; in addition – it must be said – there are correlations of powers at its center. Finally, it’s very controversial, because when we look at the results, we may sense the causes, but a good portion of the actual processes take place in the shadows.
What are the visible factors?
In the beginning, we witnessed a time of complacency and even complicity with the Ortega dictatorship on the part of the Vatican and its representatives. Let’s not forget that this began with that Apostolic Nuncio from Nigeria with the name of Fortunatus [Dr. Fortunatus Nwachukwu], who adored ostentation, the paraphernalia, and the proximity to those in power. That was in the time of Pope Benedict. He was later followed by Sommertag [Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag], who was more discreet but essentially the same, with actions that ranged from complacent to complicit. In that way, we had an apparent contradiction for a time: a complacent Vatican representative and a critical Church. Until the dictatorship, seeing their expectations frustrated, left Sommertag flat-footed on the pavement and froze diplomatic relations with the Vatican. After that came the imprisonment and sentencing of Bishop Rolando Alvarez and other priests.
What were the dictatorship’s intentions? That’s also known. Possibly the ruler, in his totalitarian zeal, aspired to participate in the naming of the bishops who would occupy the vacated dioceses, or those about to become vacant. Judging by the results, it appears that the Vatican held its ground during that round.
Those were the days when Pope Frances asserted that O
