After Pope Outreach, Nicaragua's Ortega Calls Church A 'dictatorship'

Managua, Sept 29 (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Sep, 2022 ) :Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega on Wednesday called the Catholic Church a "perfect dictatorship" for not allowing members to elect the pope and other authority figures.

In the Church, "everything is imposed. It's a perfect dictatorship. It's a perfect tyranny," he said, reflecting ongoing tensions between his government and the religious institution over 2018 protests.

"If they are going to be democratic, let them start with Catholics voting for the pope, for cardinals, for bishops," Ortega said during a televised speech to mark the 43rd anniversary of the Nicaraguan police's establishment.

The Catholic Church in Nicaragua has been under increasing government pressure since Ortega accused it of backing the protests against his government in 2018.

A crackdown against the demonstrators left hundreds dead.

Ortega maintains the protests were part of a United States-backed opposition plot to unseat him, and accuses bishops of complicity.

During his speech Wednesday, Ortega called out bishops and priests as "killers" and "coup plotters" working on behalf of "American imperialism." "I would say to His Holiness the Pope, respectfully, to the Catholic authorities -- I am Catholic -- as a Christian, I don't feel represented," he said, referencing the Church's "terrible history."Ortega criticized subjects ranging from the Inquisition in Spain and South America to the abuse of Indigenous children in Canada.

"We hear (the Church) talk about democracy," he said, suggesting that the faithful elect representatives to positions of Church leadership.