Cardinal Leopoldo José Brenes Solorzano, the Archbishop of Managua, told Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need that there have been two attacks on bishops in the last fortnight – including one on himself.
On 9th July, the cardinal was assaulted by government soldiers who entered the Basilica of San Sebastian in Diriamba – as were his Auxiliary Bishop José Silvio Baez and the apostolic nuncio Archbishop Waldemar Stanisław.
As well as the raid on the Basilicia, Bishop Abelardo Mata narrowly escaped armed attackers on Monday.
Cardinal Brenes said: “Please put pressure on the government, urging it to show respect for the bishops, the priests and the population.”
According to UN figures 280 died and 1,830 suffered injuries when government forces cracked down on anti-government protests over the last three months.
The cardinal also spoke about the situation in Masaya, 18.5 miles south of the capital Managua, where large-scale protests calling for President Daniel Ortega’s resignation led to all the roads into the city being blockaded.
At around 6am local time on Tuesday, Masaya was besieged by more than 1,000 soldiers and police.
By the time the government announced that it had retaken control of the city later that day, at least three people had died.
Cardinal Brenes told ACN: “It is an extremely difficult moment for the whole country”.
He added: “Hearing the appeal by Pope Francis to be a…
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