Nicaragua’s Crackdown on Church Worsens: Ban on Holy Week

[Stone]

Nicaragua’s Crackdown on Church Worsens: Ban on Holy Week

gloria.tv | April 12, 2025

For the second year in a row, the Nicaraguan regime has effectively banned public celebrations of Holy Week.

While 14,000 police officers and more than 2,000 patrol vehicles are deployed across the country - and parties and cultural events continue in coastal resorts - religious processions and Stations of the Cross are strictly prohibited.

According to a report released last week by Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW), priests in several dioceses have been placed under "precautionary measures. They must report in person to local police stations each week and submit detailed plans of their pastoral activities, including copies of their sermons.

On March 17, La Prensa reported that in other dioceses, police officers themselves are visiting parishes to demand summaries of weekly parish events.

In a separate development, a February statement by the Nicaraguan government indicated that the Ortega regime may no longer recognize new episcopal appointments made by the Vatican.

Nicaragua has only nine dioceses - four of which have bishops in exile.