Fides: Nicaragua; After Father Pupiro’s assassination: "We will continue to denounce injustice, corruption and violence, although we put our lives at risk", says Mgr. Baez

Garbage pickers at an illegal dump near Managua, Nicaragua made an unusual and gruesome discovery on August 23: the body of a Catholic priest, Fr. Marlon Ernesto Pupiro Garcia, wrapped in plastic. 

"Why would they kill the padre? Why? What can we poor people do?" said one of thousands of the popular priest's congregants who gathered in the plaza outside his church, people from all walks of life, to express their anguish after the news broke. Fr. Blas Cordo spoke of his murdered colleague thusly: "Father Pupiro was always a humble man; I am not the only one who says this, the presence of the weeping people here says this. He gave himself to the community; this is something that saddens all of us and which we condemn. There has never been a case like this in Nicaragua, but still we don't understand how a pitiless criminal hand could so destroy a priest." 

According to a subsequent police investigation, Fr. Pupiro, 40, was murdered for his SUV. Seven men have been arrested in connection with his death, including the owner of the auto-repair shop that bought the vehicle, and those who conspired with him to sell it, part by part.

The auxiliary Bishop of Managua, Mgr. Silvio Baez, denounced the crime in last Sunday's homily, and vowed that priests will not be deterred by the violence swirling around them. "The time has come when we must take discipleship seriously and we have to follow Jesus on the path of fidelity to our faith, even at the expense of one’s life," the Bishop said. Nicaragua is currently suffering from high levels of violent crime, petty and organized, and increasing drug activity as Central America becomes more and more a key base of operations for the narcotics industry. Another Bishop, Mgr. Abelardo Mata, relates that many Catholic priests have received death threats recently.

The President of Nicaragua, Daniel Ortega, who is facing re-election in November of this year, condemned the murder: “Nothing can justify any type of crime and least of all one committed against a priest who had earned the respect and affection of the community.” Ortega, controversial since his time as ruler of the country during the Marxist Sandanista years of the 1980's, is facing a current of opposition from within the Church as he prepares for the upcoming campaign. 

Ortega has moderated his views over time- angering many on the left by coming out firmly in opposition to abortion in recent years, and actively governing from that stance- and now speaks frequently of his faith. Critics accuse him of doing so cynically and view him as little changed from his years as a socialist revolutionary. Ortega is an ally of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and was one of the few world leaders recently to speak out in support of Libyan strongman Muammar Gaddafi.

Agenzia Fides reports on Bishop Baez's homily at this link.

Nicaraguan forensics unit investigates the crime scene of murdered priest Fr. Marlon Ernesto Pupiro Garcia.