Church leader missing in Nicaragua

On the heels of a stunning announcement from the government, a leading Christian critic of the Nicaraguan regime hasn’t been heard from since late June.

It’s been a month since Bishop Abelardo Mata was arrested.

And no one knows where he is.

On June 29, he was arrested by Nicaragua’s National Police while he was at the hospital for a routine checkup on his pacemaker. According to La Prensa, the day before his arrest he urged the faithful to pray for the persecuted church in Nicaragua.

Authorities say the 80-year-old church leader was released hours later and returned home … but reports suggest he was taken for good only hours later. His relatives have been unable to reach him since. On July 16, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) also reported threats against Mata's relatives and Jeffer Chavarría, his representative before the Inter-American Human Rights System.

Concerns have deepened because of the bishop's fragile health. He suffers from heart disease, diabetes, and vision problems.

A longtime critic of the government

Mata is the bishop emeritus of the diocese in Estelí. Throughout more than three decades of ministry, he has been a leading critic of the Nicaraguan government. In 2018, he survived a shooting attack by Sandinista paramilitary forces after calling for an end to the government's crackdown and participating in the National Dialogue peace talks during anti-government protests.

Nicaragua ranks Link Broken, the annual ranking of the 50 places where it’s most difficult to follow Jesus. Believers who raise their voices against the government over issues, including human rights violations, have faced surveillance, intimidation and imprisonment. Some even face exile and loss of citizenship.

Churches and other Christian institutions are deemed a threat to the regime. They have had assets seized, activities disrupted and banned, and buildings vandalized. Rather than be seen as a valuable part of the country’s fabric, many Christians are viewed as “destabilizing agents.”

Bishop Mata’s disappearance is just the latest sign that religious freedom is in real jeopardy in Nicaragua. Especially since he is not the first leader to disappear after being taken into police custody.

At least eight political prisoners have died in custody under the Ortega regime, according to Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan researcher and author of several studies on religious persecution. She told ACI Prensa that, “in Nicaragua, anyone who dares to speak out, even in the most obvious terms, is seen as offending the dictatorship. That is why bishops remain under constant surveillance.”

Mata's disappearance comes at a critical moment for Nicaragua. On July 20, President Daniel Ortega publicly declared that the country would no longer hold presidential elections.

“The regime's response to the country's political and electoral crisis has been to shut down what little democratic expression remains,” says Josué Valdez*, an Open Doors staff member in the region. “That includes silencing the few independent voices still left in the country.”

The announcement has also raised alarm about the future of the church in Nicaragua.

“Today, the church is under tight control. Everything must be reported, and there is no freedom to hold public activities without prior approval from the government-aligned religious authority,” Valdez adds. “We urgently ask Christians around the world to pray for the church in Nicaragua, that it would remain steadfast, continue to fulfill the Great Commission despite growing opposition, and that international support would increase in response to the persecution.”