Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Managua (Agenzia Fides) - The Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua issued a message on May 31 in the form of reflections on the prayer of the Magnificat of the Virgin Mary - recalling the end of the month and year of the Marian prayer for Nicaragua - with the title "A prayer for the new times". The Bishops invite to pray with Mary, pointing out that the Magnificat is the prayer of the poor, where we remember the mercy of God and that God is present in history. According to local media, the message also gave voice to the conscience of all the people regarding the political situation of today's Nicaragua.
The Archbishop of Managua, Archbishop Leopoldo Brenes, in an interview with the television program "Esta Semana" a copy of which was sent to Fides by the Archdiocese, made a comment regarding the bishops' message: "We want to present this prayer as a catechesis, because it is a catechesis. As Bishops we recite it every day at the end of the day in the Liturgy of the Hours, in our evening prayer, and we want to offer it to everyone". The Archbishop of Managua added: "The call of the Bishops is not a magic recipe for social change, but it is a prayer that echoes the voice of the people who want to live their responsibilities in justice respect to social change".
With regards to the political moment that the country is living Mgr.Brenes said: "Concerning the elections, there is a bit of tension because Ortega's candidacy is a bit freakish. Although, the National Council elections approved this choice, many have warned that they tried to make some small changes to the law to justify this nomination".
The Archbishop added: "It would have been better to present a new face and, I believe, more appropriate, but we will see how we will proceed in the future. There will be a generation of Nicaraguans who will not have the opportunity to be part of top management of a party. Young people aged 30 to 45 years will not have this possibility because the political group that governs us is not renewed, it is now very old and still does not leave room for the young. We are all useful, but not all of us are essential".
Regarding the social situation of the country, Mgr. Brenes underlined that the Bishops' message is of hope and is intended to promote the dignity of the person, not purely asking for institutional help. "We do not give concrete suggestions on how to act and do not present our criticisms - the Archbishop said in the interview -. We present the observations we gather during our pastoral visits by the same common people who complain and that trust us. We are preparing an agenda full of events to pray for the country and want it to be an invitation to the people and also to the ruling class to pray together for our nation", he concluded. (EC) (Agenzia Fides, 10 / 06/2011)
