AMERICA/NICARAGUA - A hundred years of the ecclesiastical Province: a feast with our eyes on the country’s situation

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

Managua (Agenzia Fides) - Thousands of Catholics from all over the country gathered on the morning of December 2, at the Cathedral of Managua, to celebrate the centenary of the Ecclesiastical Province of Managua. The Special Envoy of Pope Francis, Cardinal Nicolas de Jesus Lopez Rodriguez, Archbishop of Santo Domingo, presided at the Mass concelebrated by the Bishops from Central America and priests from Nicaragua. The note sent to Fides Agency by the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua (CEN), reports that during the celebration the Cardinal said: "This is a historic moment for the Church and for Nicaraguans because it marks the moment when Pope St. Pius X created the Ecclesiastical Province of Nicaragua, in 1913, which originally depended on Guatemala".
After the celebration, the Special Envoy of the Pope commented the constitutional reform process underway in Nicaragua, proposed by the ruling party at the National Assembly (see Fides 23/11/2013). "The best Constitution is that which comes from dialogue, which represents the interests of the people of Nicaragua and not just a part - said Cardinal Lopez Rodriguez -. There may be moments of misunderstanding, of crisis, however, always based on mutual dialogue. Only if we can talk and listen, we can understand. This is not the interest of one party, but the interest of the people of Nicaragua. Everyone knows that people need to be helped in the field of education, health, community organization, social projects ... because this is essential".
The Archbishop of Managua, His Exc. Mgr. Leopoldo Brenes, said: "It is a blessing to have in our celebration the Cardinal Primate of America, because it was in Santo Domingo that the work of evangelization in Latin America began. The first missionaries landed there and the Cross of evangelization was put there".
Yesterday, December 3rd, the secretary of the Episcopal Conference of Nicaragua issued a statement in which it reports that, after the celebration, the Special Envoy of the Holy Father and President Daniel Ortega were invited to lunch in the Nunciature. Also all the Bishops of the CEN attended. The President of CEN, His Exc. Mgr. René Sócrates Sándigo Jirón, Bishop of Juigalpa, speaking to the press after the meeting said: "We spoke with President Ortega and we shared the idea of working together for the country". (CE) (Agenzia Fides 04/12/2013)


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