SW News: Special prayers for the persecuted Church in Nicaragua were held during the Men’s Rosary in Miami on Saturday. Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami in USA’s Florida led the rosary on the outskirts of Our Lady of Guadalupe parish.

“I participated in the Men's Rosary on the grounds of Our Lady of Guadalupe. Bilingual event was organized by Servants of the Pierced Hearts (the brothers). Prayers were offered for Nicaragua, Cuba, Haiti, Venezuela. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us," the prelate tweeted.

The Archbishop of Miami lamented that "the leftist regime of President Daniel Ortega continues its persecution of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua with various acts of repression," referring to the kidnapping of Bishop Rolando Álvarez Lagos of Matagalpa and the prohibition of the procession of the Pilgrim Virgin of Fatima.

He also denounced the closure of Catholic universities and radio stations in the Central American nation and encouraged people to "pray for the people of Nicaragua and their Church."

The persecution of Catholic priests in Nicaragua has intensified as the Sandinista regime of Ortega portrays the church as a political enemy. Vice President Rosario Murillo has accused prelates of promoting "terrorist acts."

The repression has halted the Church’s charitable and educational projects, and even Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity have been expelled from the country. Government actions have hindered Catholics' freedom of worship and they include the suppression of processions and celebrations of the Eucharist.

Under the Sandinista government since 2018, there have been more than 190 attacks against Catholic bishops, priests, faithful, and houses of worship, according to a report compiled by attorney Martha Patricia Molina Montenegro, a member of the Pro-Transparency and Anti-Corruption Observatory.

Ortega has repeatedly insulted Catholic bishops and priests, calling them “demons in cassocks,” “terrorists” and “coup plotters.”

Recently using the police, the Ortega dictatorship harassed priests in Nicaragua, especially in the Dioceses of Matagalpa and Siuna. They also forcibly took Matagalpa’s Bishop Rolando Alvarez to Managua and placed him under house arrest for the simple reason that he is an outspoken critic of the atrocities of the regime.