Bianca Jagger tells silent Pope not to abandon his bishops and priests

"Few things are as deafening as silence"

Bianca Jagger, Mexico's ex-President Felipe Calderon and Pulitzer Prize winner, Andres Oppenheimer criticise Pope Francis for not commenting on recent events in Nicaragua. There, dictator Daniel Ortega has closed down Catholic radio stations and placed a bishop under house arrest.

While police cordoned off the area in front of the church door, Bishop Rolando Alvarez celebrates a service together with five other imprisoned clergy and six lay people. On Monday, the encirclement of the Bishop of Matagalpa in his church had already lasted twelve days. Twelve days in which Pope Francis could have spoken out about the recent events in Nicaragua.

Astonishment at the Pope's silence

But the head of the Church from Argentina is astonished by his silence. While the Latin American Bishops' Council, CELAM and many national Bishops' conferences have expressed their solidarity with the Church in Nicaragua, Francis has so far kept a low profile.

In the meantime, the prominent voices calling on him to speak out are increasing. "It is hard to decide what is more scandalous: the decision of Nicaraguan dictator Daniel Ortega to close down seven radio stations of the Catholic Church and to order the house arrest of a bishop and his aides or Pope Francis' complete silence on these attacks on his own people," writes Argentine Pulitzer Prize winner and CNN journalist, Andres Oppenheimer for the Miami daily "El Nuevo Herald".

Do not abandon bishops and priests

Nicaraguan-born Bianca Jagger, ex-wife of Rolling Stones boss Mick Jagger and now a committed human rights defender, called on Francis to take a stand and "not abandon his bishops and his priests". This applies "especially to Bishop Rolando Alvarez, whose life is in danger", Jagger told journalists in London.

Mexico's ex-president Felipe Calderon (2006-2012) also criticised the silence: At the moment, the Nicaraguan dictatorship is raiding churches, kidnapping parishioners and people seeking protection. The strong condemnation of these incidents by democratic governments and especially by Francis is urgently needed. The "barbarism" must be stopped, Calderon wrote. He backed up his tweet with a video showing Nicaraguan security forces entering a church.

Human rights activist writes to the Pope

Lawyer and Secretary General of the Independent Nicaraguan Association for Human Rights (ANPDH), Alvaro Leiva, wrote a letter to the Pope a few days ago, noting, "There are few things as deafening as silence."

Why the top representative of the Catholic Church has so far not spoken out is unclear. A Nicaraguan church expert suspects that the Archbishop of Managua, Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, has asked him to remain silent for the time being so that the situation does not escalate further.

Catholic radio stations closed

At the beginning of the month, it became known that the Sandinista government of Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua had closed down half a dozen radio stations in the diocese of Matagalpa. The reason given by the telecommunications authority was the lack of a broadcasting licence. Matagalpa's Bishop Rolando Alvarez has been under house arrest for almost two weeks. He is accused of inciting violence and sedition.

Over 1000 NGOs banned

Since the end of 2018, around 1200 non-governmental organisations in Nicaragua have been deprived of the legal basis to continue their work, according to media reports. Church organisations or organisations close to the church are also affected by the banning measures. The figures are based on a database created by the portal "Confidencial".

Nicaragua has been experiencing a crisis since 2018 with nationwide protests against the leftist Ortega government. Since the beginning, around 350 people have died and thousands have been injured. Nicaragua's church, human rights activists and independent media have repeatedly criticised the rulers' violations of the law in harsh terms. 

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