Bishops Stress Ties to Clerics in Nicaragua

Back from a visit to Nicaragua, a representative of U.S. Roman Catholic bishops said they must “stand with” fellow bishops in Nicaragua “even as we also continue to criticize” aspects of U.S. policy there.

Archbishop John R. Roach of St. Paul-Minneapolis, the immediate past president of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, said the Nicaraguan bishops face “significant pressure and tension.”

He said that in extensive meetings, Archbishop Miguel Obando y Bravo of Managua recounted “tactics of harassment” of bishops by the government. Roach also said that American missionaries voiced “concerns about the impact of U.S. policy” there.

Oppose Aid to Guerrillas

The U.S. bishops have opposed U.S. aid to guerrillas trying to overthrow the Nicaraguan government.

Roach, sent on the mission by the current president of the bishops’ group, Bishop James Malone of Youngstown, Ohio, said a “pattern of harassment” of the Nicaraguan church remains an “abiding concern” of U.S. bishops.

At the same time, he said, they still object to “aspects of U.S. policy” that they see as “counterproductive as a means of protecting human rights in Nicaragua and fostering a climate of justice and peace in Central America.”