Nicaragua’s Rulers Close Catholic School In Massive Anti-Christian Crackdown (Worthy News In-Depth)
📄 Article Content
## Worthy Christian News > World News > Nicaragua’s Rulers Close Catholic School In Massive Anti-Christian Crackdown (Worthy News In-Depth)
# Nicaragua’s Rulers Close Catholic School In Massive Anti-Christian Crackdown (Worthy News In-Depth)
__Friday, August 15, 2025 |__Tag Cloud | Learn about our FREE SYNDICATION Service | Sign up for our Worthy Briefs! | Printer Friendly
By Stefan J. Bos, Worthy News Chief International Correspondent
MANAGUA (Worthy News) – Nicaragua’s authoritarian socialist government has “expropriated” the Catholic San José School in the city of Jinotepe amid a broader crackdown on Christians expressing their faith in the Central American nation, church sources said Thursday.
The school, located in the western Carazo Department area, had been run for 40 years by the Congregation of the Josephine Sisters.
However, under rulers Daniel Ortega and his powerful wife Rosario Murillo, the nuns were pressured to end their activities, Worthy News learned.
Murillo accused the nuns of being involved in “crimes” during anti-government protests in 2018. She claimed that the government’s leftist “Sandinista” supporters were “tortured and killed” at the school during rallies that erupted in April that year. Murillo did not provide evidence for her claims.
In published remarks, Murillo announced that the school would be renamed the “Bismarck Martínez Educational Center,” “in honor of a Sandinista activist who was killed during protests.”
**JOSEPHINE SISTERS CHARITY**
Researcher Martha Patricia Molina condemned the government’s action, accusing Murillo of “defaming the religious congregation.”
She noted that the Josephine Sisters, who arrived in Nicaragua in February 1915, “always dedicated themselves to educating boys and girls in Christian and humanist values, grounded in love for others and the practice of charity.”
The United States also condemned the government takeover of the school.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Western He