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The Sandinista government in Nicaragua has expelled Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera, the president of the Nicaraguan bishops' conference. This move further diminishes the Catholic leadership in the country as clergy members face exile.
Bishop Herrera was compelled to leave after he accused a local Sandinista mayor of sacrilege for disrupting a Mass with loud music outside the cathedral. According to reports from Confidencial, an independent news outlet, Bishop Herrera departed on November 12 from Nicaragua's capital to Guatemala City. His current location remains unknown, but it is reported that he was received by the Order of Friars Minor, his religious order.
During a Mass on November 10, Bishop Herrera stated: “We ask the Lord’s forgiveness for our faults and also for those who do not respect worship and truth,” adding that it was “a sacrilege that the mayor and the municipal authorities are committing. … Go tell them because they know the time of the Mass.” The Mass was initially broadcast on Facebook but later became inaccessible. Local governments in Nicaragua have been known to monitor priests during services and hold disruptive events nearby.
Bishop Herrera has served as president of the bishops' conference since 2021 and is now one of three bishops expelled from Nicaragua this year. Bishops Rolando Álvarez of Matagalpa and Isidoro Mora of Siuna were sent to the Vatican earlier this year following an agreement between Nicaragua and Vatican authorities.
The expulsion has left four dioceses without bishops, with significant reductions in clergy numbers. The Diocese of Matagalpa now has only 22 priests compared to 70 previously. Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer in exile monitoring church persecution, noted these figures.
President Daniel Ortega's regime, alongside Vice President Rosario Murillo, continues its efforts against dissenting voices within Catholic circles. Reports indicate priests are being denied access to hospitals for administering sacraments like anointing the sick.
Molina commented on these developments: “The repression hasn’t changed,” she told OSV News. “They want to eradicate Catholicism from the country, make it atheist. They want to have total control over the Catholic Church.”
David Agren contributed reporting from Mexico City for OSV News.
