Dictatorship in Nicaragua cancels legal personhood of 10 Catholic and evangelical NGOs

By Walter Sánchez Silva

ACI Prensa Staff, Jan 19, 2024 / 18:00 pm

In a new attack against the Catholic Church and other Christians in Nicaragua, the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, has canceled the legal personhood of several religious congregations and evangelical groups.

On Jan. 16, the Ministry of the Interior published in the official government newspaper La Gaceta the agreement ordering the measure, signed by Minister María Amelia Coronel Kinloch, and affecting 16 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), 10 of which are Catholic and evangelical institutions.

Of the 16 groups, nine organizations were dissolved by order of the government and their assets will be expropriated, while the other seven, according to the government notice, requested voluntary cancellation.

The six government-dissolved religious groups are the Consecrated Missionaries of the Most Holy Savior Foundation, the Missionaries of the Company of Mary Association (Montfort Missionaries), the Jehovah Will Provide Pentecost Mission Association, the Evangelistic and Prophetic Apostolic Mission Association, the New Restoration Family Church Foundation, and the Worldwide Missions Association of Nicaragua.

According to the Ministry of the Interior agreement, the accusation against these institutions is not having reported their financial statements.

The four religious groups that requested voluntary cancellation are the Evangelical Life Fraternity Association of Missionaries of the Cross Association, the Marriage Ministry on the Rock Association, the Tabernacle of David Church Association, and The Redeemer Pentecostal Church Association. The destination of their assets was not specified.

According to Vatican News, more than 3,500 NGOs have been canceled by the Nicaraguan dictatorship since 2018, when protests against the regime began over social security reform.

According to statista.com, less than 50% of Nicaraguans identify as Catholics, the rest being mostly some form of Protestantism.

This story was first publishedby ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

Walter Sánchez Silva is a senior writer for ACI Prensa (https://www.aciprensa.com). With more than 15 years of experience, he has reported from important ecclesial events in Europe, Asia and Latin America during the pontificates of Benedict XVI and Pope Francis. E-mail: walter@aciprensa.com