Solidarity with the Church and Jesuits in Nicaragua: Responding to Repression and Denial of Religious Freedom
The Catholic Church in Nicaragua is suffering. A bishop has been imprisoned, the Jesuit university closed, religious women expelled, charities closed, and seminaries dissolved. The Society of Jesus (the Jesuits) has served the people and Church of Nicaragua since the 1500s. Jesuits have stood with the people of Nicaragua in countless ways, offering education, fighting injustice, working for democracy, respecting human rights, and seeking peace.
In the last few years, the Ortega-Murillo government has forced thousands of Nicaraguans into exile, with others leaving the country due to their inability to live a free, dignified life. Many have been threatened and attacked for their opposition to the current government. Many others have suffered from gripping poverty that led them to leave the country. In August 2023, the government expelled the Jesuits from the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA), closed the university in Managua, and seized properties and assets belonging to Jesuits and several other Catholic religious orders. Catholic leaders have been forced into exile, and Bishop Rolando Alvarez was imprisoned for his opposition to the government.
The actions of the Ortega-Murillo regime threaten basic rights such as religious freedom and freedom of expression, as well as economic and political stability in Nicaragua and the broader Central American region. Civil society groups and individuals critical of the government have faced threats, censorship, and various forms of retaliation. Police forces have cracked down violently on protestors critical of the government, and hundreds have died as a result.
Four leaders with experience and expertise in these issues will discuss the challenges presented by the situation in Nicaragua, the attacks on the Church and the Society of Jesus, and how Catholics can use the principles of Catholic social teaching to advance justice, peace, religious freedom, and solidarity.
Participants
- Rev. Matthew Carnes, S.J., is an associate professor in the Department of Government and in the Walsh School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University. A specialist on Latin America, he has conducted extensive field research in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and, Peru, and he has worked on development projects in Ecuador, Honduras, Mexico, Paraguay, and Uruguay.
- Rhina Guidos is a reporter at Global Sisters Report where she covers national and international events. She is a former national reporter with Catholic News Service and is the author of Rutilio Grande: A Table for All (2018), a book about a Salvadoran Jesuit priest who inspired St. Oscar Romero.
- Renato Llontop Calosi (SFS’24) is a Georgetown University student from Peru studying international political economy, Italian, and international business diplomacy. He is an active member of the Georgetown Campus Ministry community, serving as one of the student coordinators in the Hispanic Ministry.
- Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) is a member of the United States House of Representatives, where he represents Massachusetts’s 2nd congressional district and serves on the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission. Rep. McGovern’s leadership on human rights goes back to his time as a congressional staffer, when he led an investigation into the murders of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her daughter in El Salvador.
- Kim Daniels, director of the Initiative and member of the Vatican Dicastery for Communication, will moderate the dialogue.
Photo © JEMP
Georgetown’s Dahlgren Dialogues, co-sponsored by the Office of Mission & Ministry and the Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life, are a series of substantive conversations with experienced leaders in the context of prayerful reflection on current topics at the intersection of faith and public life.
Recording and Accessibility
For those who cannot join us in person, the dialogue starting at 6:00 p.m. EDT will be livestreamed and posted online for later viewing.
All in-person accommodation requests should be sent to cathsocialthought@georgetown.edu by November 8. A good-faith effort will be made to fulfill requests.