Nicaragua’s authoritarian socialist government has “expropriated” the Catholic San José School in the city of Jinotepe amid a broader crackdown on Christians expressing their faith in the Central American nation, church sources said Thursday.
The school, located in the western Carazo Department area, had been run for 40 years by the Congregation of the Josephine Sisters.
However, under rulers Daniel Ortega and his powerful wife Rosario Murillo, the nuns were pressured to end their activities, Worthy News learned.
Murillo accused the nuns of being involved in “crimes” during anti-government protests in 2018. She claimed that the government’s leftist “Sandinista” supporters were “tortured and killed” at the school during rallies that erupted in April that year. Murillo did not provide evidence for her claims.
In published remarks, Murillo announced that the school would be renamed the “Bismarck Martínez Educational Center,” “in honor of a Sandinista activist who was killed during protests.”
Researcher Martha Patricia Molina condemned the government’s action, accusing Murillo of “defaming the religious congregation.”
She noted that the Josephine Sisters, who arrived in Nicaragua in February 1915, “always dedicated themselves to educating boys and girls in Christian and humanist values, grounded in love for others and the practice of charity.”
The United States also condemned the government takeover of the school.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs said the expropriation was “further proof that the Murillo-Ortega dictatorship’s cruelty knows no bounds.”
This is not the first time the Nicaraguan government has seized property belonging to religious orders or the Catholic Church, according to the Vatican.
“In January, the regime expropriated two Church-owned buildings: the San Luis Gonzaga Seminary in the Diocese of Matagalpa and the La Cartuja spiritual retreat center. Over time, there have been numerous arrests and expulsions of bishops and priests, as well as bans on religious activities and processions,” the Vatican News service said.
Among others targeted in previous years were the Missionaries of Charity Association, founded in Nicaragua by the late Mother Theresa of Calcutta, India, and ordered closed by the government. Its nuns were forced to leave the country in July 2022, explained church sources.
Advocacy group Open Doors confirmed that “Hostility toward Christians in Nicaragua continues to intensify,” especially against “those who speak out against President Ortega” as they are seen as “destabilizing agents.”
Legislative changes mean that church leaders perceived as threats to Nicaragua’s current leadership “are labeled terrorists and coup-plotters,” said Christians familiar with the situation.
“Christian leaders have been harassed and arrested, Christian properties seized, Christian schools, TV stations, and charities closed, and churches monitored and intimidated. In light of these pressures, many Christians – particularly church leaders – have felt forced to flee the country. Many more have been expelled and expatriated,” stressed Open Doors investigators
Foreign Christians involved in Christian activities say they face immigration restrictions and find it increasingly difficult to move freely within the country.
“Christians continue to have an influence in Nicaragua, and this is one of the reasons the government targets them – aiming not just to silence the church, but to undermine their credibility and prevent their message from spreading,” noted Open Doors.
“Given the government’s totalitarian control over Nicaragua, persecution is present throughout the country and at all levels. Those who express opposition to the government’s dictatorial measures are likely to face hostility, harassment, censorship, threats, detentions, and physical violence.”
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