Nicaragua’s government has intensified its campaign against the Catholic Church, issuing an ultimatum for the country’s few remaining religious sisters to leave by December, according to La Croix International.
This marks the latest chapter in President Daniel Ortega’s systematic persecution of the Church, which has included accusations, expulsions, and confiscations targeting clergy and religious institutions.
The ultimatum deepens the hostile environment for religious sisters, many of whom have already sought refuge in neighboring countries where their congregations remain active. Lawyer and researcher Martha Patricia Molina, speaking from exile in Texas, described the government’s actions as part of an escalating pattern of repression. In her report Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?, she documents widespread attacks on Catholic institutions from 2018 to 2023.
“The nuns have already been banned from working in non-profit organizations, and now all their property is being confiscated,” Molina explained.
This crackdown is not new. Among the most shocking expulsions were the Missionaries of Charity, founded by St. Teresa of Calcutta, who served Nicaragua’s poor since 1988.
In 2022, the congregation was accused of “money laundering” and financing “weapons of mass destruction,” charges widely dismissed as politically motivated.
The government’s hostility has extended to clergy as well. The apostolic nuncio was expelled in 2022, and hundreds of priests and bishops have been forced into exile. Recently, Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez of Jinotega was arrested and expelled, joining Bishop Rolando Alvarez and 245 other priests who have faced similar fates.
Just last month, authorities banned priests from administering Last Rites in public hospitals, further curtailing the Church’s sacramental mission.