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Ortega regime expels Missionaries of Charity from Nicaragua
[CruxNow] Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega expelled the Missionaries of Charity, the religious order founded by Mother Teresa of Kolkata, and closed two Catholic TV stations as he continued his campaign to end any form of real or perceived opposition to his regime.The announcement confirming the closure of all their activities came June 28, as the government of Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, announced they were closing another 101 NGOs "urgently." Since a civil uprising of April 2018, the government has cracked down on voices of opposition. To date, there are 150 opposition leaders in prison, including all those who had expressed a willingness to run for the presidency last year. The regime has also canceled the legal status of 758 NGOs, including 42 foreign organizations. The Missionaries of Charity arrived in Nicaragua in 1988, under the first Ortega administration (1979-1990) and following a visit to the Central American nation by Mother Teresa of Kolkata. The nuns run the Immaculate Heart of Mary Home in the city of Granada, where they take in abandoned or abused adolescents and help them reintegrate into life. They also run a home for the elderly in Managua, the capital city; a school reinforcement project for at-risk students; and a day care center for impoverished families. As has been the case with hundreds of other charitable enterprises closed by the regime, the state is providing the thousands of vulnerable people who benefit from the sister’s activities with an alternative place to stay or get aid. In an attempt to justify the closure of the Missionaries of Charity activities, the government is accusing the group of "non-compliance" with the law against terrorism, arguing they have "failed to comply with their obligations." The state argues that since the ministries are not accredited by the Ministry of Family, they are violating the Law Against Laundering Assets, the Financing of Terrorism and the Financing of the Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Law 977). The government insists that the sisters did not report fixed assets, nor did they report the activities carried out in the city of Granada, and that their income from donations does not coincide with the reports submitted. In addition, the board of directors of the association the sisters have in Nicaragua is made up exclusively of foreigners. According to a new law that came into force two months ago, only 25 percent of its members can be from outside Nicaragua. Many came to their defense, including Bishop Silvio Baez, who has been living in exile in Miami since 2019. "I am very sad that the dictatorship has forced the Missionaries of Charity of Teresa of Calcutta to leave the country," he said on Twitter Wednesday. "Nothing justifies depriving the poor of charitable care. I am a witness to the loving service the sisters rendered. God bless them." Related: Daniel Ortega: 2022-06-13 Nicaragua gives permission for Russian troops to enter country Daniel Ortega: 2022-01-12 Argentina fumes after Iranian AMIA bomb suspect spotted at Nicaragua ceremony Daniel Ortega: 2021-11-09 Nicaragua: Socialist Daniel Ortega ‘Wins' ‘Worst Possible Election' with 75% of Votes Related: Missionaries of Charity: 2018-07-06 Mother Teresa charity accused of selling babies in India Missionaries of Charity: 2016-03-06 Pope Shocked by 'Diabolical' Attack on Yemen Care Home Missionaries of Charity: 2016-03-05 4 Catholic nuns, 12 others killed in Yemen retirement home Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain 2022-07-03 |
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