The Society of Jesus, also known as the Jesuit Order, must end its activities in Nicaragua. She was declared illegal. Earlier, the Central American University Jesuit Institute located in Managua was already closed and its assets seized by the government.
President Daniel Ortega’s administration said the university was a “center of terrorism” and that the order did not properly complete its tax returns.
Jesuit Edward Kimman is appalled. “It’s not unusual in Latin America. The guy sitting there now (President Ortega, ed.), took power from a dictator in 1979. Now he too! He’s simply silencing the opposition.
Critical sounds
According to Kimman, the Jesuits were critical intellectuals. The Society of Jesus administers many educational institutions in the world, including Nicaragua. Kimman says the order has often been banned because of its critical approach. For example, in Vietnam, China and Russia, parish churches or colleges are already banned.
“It fits the mandates of the order,” Kimman says. “That’s how we interpret the gospel.” Jesuits believe that as a human being you have a duty to criticize. “For example, you can read when Jesus overturned the tables of the merchants in the temple in Jerusalem. Kovil is very clearly aloof from the whole economy”.
Autonomous University
“It’s very sad,” said Julian Weigels, a Nicaragua expert and lecturer in Latin American studies at the University of Amsterdam, about the institute’s closure. “This is actually the only truly autonomous university left. No one expected the government to dare to take this step.
According to Weigels, the critical attitude of the Jesuits was precisely the problem. “This is not desirable for an authoritarian regime that wants to enforce its own will.”
In Kimman’s view, Nicaragua will be headed downhill for the foreseeable future. “Repression is always bloody. The students who graduated there are now in danger,” he said. In Kimman’s view the penal camps in Nicaragua are not ruled out. “Tehran, Beijing, Moscow, you can’t imagine it, but it’s the same machine everywhere.” Many Jesuits have already been expelled from Nicaragua.
Go against the government
Weigels criticizes the government’s arguments. “They are quick to call the protest terrorism. In July 2018, they introduced the Anti-Terrorism Act. But the definition of terrorism used here is very broad. Anything against the government or state institutions can be labeled as terrorism.
The government has alleged that the order has not submitted its financial status since 2020. Weigels: “It’s kind of a game. They bring things: a receipt for this or a stamp for that. It is now presented as if they had not filed a report for years, but the basic idea is that they did not like the Jesuits. They don’t like country talkers.
History of the Jesuits in South America
The Jesuit order has had a turbulent history in South America. “The Jesuits came to the continent as missionaries at the end of the sixteenth century,” explains Job von Gennip, historian of church history at Tilburg University. “During the 1970s and 1980s, they sided with the opposition many times. They expressed solidarity with rebels or local priests who spoke out against the regimes.
Often they not only kicked the foot of the establishment, but also took action against the Vatican. “Many priests were taken back to their own country or they were banned from preaching. The church helped to keep peace in a country. The establishment doesn’t want it to get out of hand.
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What is the Jesuit order anyway?
The Society of Jesus (Jesuits), which belongs to the new pope, has about 19,000 members. The largest religious body is the Roman Catholic Church. Although the Superior General of the Order is sometimes referred to as the Black Pope, the Order has never produced a Pope.
