Nicaragua bars priests from anointing the dying in hospitals

The dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, is preventing priests from entering hospitals in Nicaragua to administer the sacrament of anointing of the sick to those who need it, according to lawyer Martha Patricia Molina, author of the report “Nicaragua: A Persecuted Church?”

Approximately 10 priests from different dioceses have confirmed the situation to Molina, who nevertheless noted — in an interview with the Spanish edition of EWTN News — that a few other priests are allowed to enter hospitals, “but these are priests with some sort of ties to the dictatorship; they sometimes have the possibility of entering hospitals, but it’s not something widespread,” she explained.

The lawyer commented that before this year the Sandinista dictatorship allowed priests to enter health care facilities. Security measures have been tightened without any justification and the persecution becomes more severe when priests try to enter with clerical garb, which is why many choose to try entering wearing secular clothing.

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