The Sandinista Government and Pope John Paul II
Case Study: Latin America and the Catholic Church
Religion is usually caught in the middle of power struggles for the control of a country and in March of 1983 Nicaragua was no different. During this period the country was in amidst of war, the Contras were opposing the Sandinista government. So when Pope John Paul II was set to visit the country, many Sandinista Catholic supporters hope he would help to bring about social justice for the poor and support the government. Believing this would bring an end to the civil war that was consuming the country. They were wrong in that assessment since his visit only deepened tension between the Sandinistas and the many Nicaraguan Catholics who supported them, but was used by the Contras to give the organization moral legitimacy. What some reform-minded Catholics hope that Pope John Paul II might do during his visit was to say a prayer for their dead and say the church was on the side of the poor. This would go a long way in legitimizing Liberation Theology which seems to be what a lot of Latin priests and nuns were practicing. Instead, the Pope publicly scolded priest Ernesto Cardenal, who had taken a post as minister of culture under the leftist Sandinista regime. This was done to make clear his position of what he saw as similarities between elements of Liberation Theology and Marxism to the Nicaragua priests. Some Nicaraguan Catholics was disappointed in the Pope’s position because they were hoping he would at least say some words of consolation to the families which were losing loved ones daily in the war. Especially since seventeen members of the Sandinista Youth Organization was giving a memorial service in that very plaza just the day before. However, the Pope avoided making any sympathetic words either publicly or privately about the war and most did not expect this level of bleakness. Many feared that because of the Pope’s visit to Nicaragua the Contras would gained moral legitimacy
Religion is usually caught in the middle of power struggles for the control of a country and in March of 1983 Nicaragua was no different. During this period the country was in amidst of war, the Contras were opposing the Sandinista government. So when Pope John Paul II was set to visit the country, many Sandinista Catholic supporters hope he would help to bring about social justice for the poor and support the government. Believing this would bring an end to the civil war that was consuming the country. They were wrong in that assessment since his visit only deepened tension between the Sandinistas and the many Nicaraguan Catholics who supported them, but was used by the Contras to give the organization moral legitimacy. What some reform-minded Catholics hope that Pope John Paul II might do during his visit was to say a prayer for their dead and say the church was on the side of the poor. This would go a long way in legitimizing Liberation Theology which seems to be what a lot of Latin priests and nuns were practicing. Instead, the Pope publicly scolded priest Ernesto Cardenal, who had taken a post as minister of culture under the leftist Sandinista regime. This was done to make clear his position of what he saw as similarities between elements of Liberation Theology and Marxism to the Nicaragua priests. Some Nicaraguan Catholics was disappointed in the Pope’s position because they were hoping he would at least say some words of consolation to the families which were losing loved ones daily in the war. Especially since seventeen members of the Sandinista Youth Organization was giving a memorial service in that very plaza just the day before. However, the Pope avoided making any sympathetic words either publicly or privately about the war and most did not expect this level of bleakness. Many feared that because of the Pope’s visit to Nicaragua the Contras would gained moral legitimacy