After the government of Daniel Ortega formally banned the work of the Missionaries of Charity in Nicaragua, the religious sisters were forced out of the country by police.
Before 8 a.m. on Wednesday, July 6, the 15 nuns of the order founded by Mother Teresa of Calcutta left their house in Managua, escorted by immigration authorities, reported La Prensa.
The government closed the association that provided them legal status to work in Nicaragua in mid-June. Sources confirmed to Crux that most of the nuns deported Wednesday are from India, but there are also members from Guatemala, the Philippines, Mexico, Ecuador, and Spain.
Ortega’s deportation order came almost four decades after he welcomed them to the country, after a visit from Mother Teresa.
La Prensa reported that the nuns went to Costa Rica, where the order has a religious house.
Bishop Manuel Eugenio Salazar Mora, of the Diocese of Tilaran, in Costa Rica, confirmed the arrival of the nuns.
“Our diocese is open to receive them, thank you for your example, dedication and service to the poorest of the poor,” he wrote.
He also offered prayers for the Catholic Church of Nicaragua.
Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua released a statement Monday lamenting the government’s decision to dissolve the Association of the Missionaries of Charity in Nicaragua, which gave the religious order legal status in the country.
“We deeply regret the pain of so many of our brothers and sisters who will no longer have the attention they received from the sisters,” he said.
The sisters maintained a nursery, a home for abused and abandoned girls and a home for the elderly in the archdiocese. They also administered a shelter for abandoned and abused teenagers in southwest Nicaragua, providing psychological help and comprehensive education, including teaching them trades to help them reintegrate into society.
According to a report by the General Directorate of Registration and Control of Non-Profit Organizations of the Ministry of the Interior, the Missionaries of Charity failed to comply “with their obligations” under the law that regulates them, as well as the law on money laundering, financing of terrorism and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Another reason for dissolving the NGO, according to the Ministry of the Interior, is that their board of directors did not have enough Nicaraguan citizens. A law enacted two months ago mandated that only 25 percent of the board of directors can be foreigners.
The above comes from a July 7 posting on Crux.
“…financing of terrorism and financing of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.” Of course they do. It is easy to see that they hide thermonuclear bombs under their habits, and chant “death to Ortega” instead of the psalms. How very clever of the General Directorate of Registration and Control of Non-Profit Organizations of the Ministry of the Interior, to discover their subterfuge. And we all thought they were dedicated to helping the poor in Nicaragua. Why, in a week they would have overthrown the government and established themselves as the new apparatchiks.
The real question is why did Ortega feel so threatened by these humble, holy sisters that he had to expel them? Were they winning the hearts of the people? Dictators, like all totalitarian groups, rely on blind devotion to themselves and their ideological underpinnings. In that light, it is easy to see how the sisters could have earned a spot on the enemies list.
0rtega has expelled 700 foreign NGO’s over the last few years, apparently fearing that they were being used as cover for activists and provocateurs. The Church and it’s activities has also come under
increasing suspicion. Some clergy have seemed to back his opponents by interrupting arrests and giving sanctuary in churches.Mother Teresa’s sisters were caught in the crossfire
are those the actual nuns being evicted?
No, It would be my educated guess that they are terrorists.
no need for snarkiness. sometimes this site uses stock photos. they look like they could be walking to the beach. and why are they wearing masks these days and outside? covid is over, so maybe it’s a photo from a year or two ago.
The caption on the original story linked in blue at the end of the article says that it is a picture of the sisters as they arrived in Costa Rica from Nicaragua
From Costa Rica they could establish a mission on Isla Nublar.
Nothing is more dangerous to those in power than those who do what they say, especially concerning the poor, and the displaced, whom they neglect, but are full of promises to do something for them We love them so much in the USA, we let them just live in the streets, shot themselves up with drugs, etc.
People Really, who cares when the picture was taken, let’s see, are they walking north, south, or east, that’s the real point of this story.
Ortega don’t cross my path you loser
Of course they are terrorists. They pray to St. Joseph each day and he is the “Terror of demons”! Also they do have weapons of mass destruction…they al wear and pra the rosary! The weapon of Mass destruction of sin, error, and evil! Keep on dear Sisters!