Nan McCurdy April 30th 2019
Note from TcS: This letter from Methodist Missionary Nan McCurdy to the Italian news media outlet La Stampa's Vatican Insider web site addresses the false claims that Bishop Silvio Baez left Nicaragua after receiving threats.
"Dear Vatican Insider
I am writing about the April 24 article by Salvatore Cernuzio: Nicaragua, Threatened Bishop Called Back by the Pope Arrives in Rome.
I am a United Methodist Missionary and began work in pastoral accompaniment in the 1980s war zone of San Juan de Limay, Nicaragua and worked closely with Catholics there.
Baez is and always has been aligned with the most recalcitrant rightwing oligarchs in Central America. To even mention his name and that of Archbishop Romero in the same sentence, other than to say that one supports the oligarchy and the other supported the poor, I believe, is a sin.
For the majority of the Nicaraguan population Baez is the devil incarnate. He was taped by campesinos in October 2018 commending the wonderful work done at the roadblocks. Keep in mind that this is where the opposition and paid thugs killed, tortured, and kidnapped hundreds of Sandinistas over three months. In the audio Baez proudly talks about being the founder of the opposition alliance. He also talks about dreaming of seeing President Ortega in front of a firing squad. He is also heard denigrating Cardinal Brenes.
Many people in Nicaragua have analyzed why the pope removed Monsignor Baez.
The Christian Base Community - one of the oldest in Latin America - San Pablo Apostle in an eastern barrio of Managua collected nearly 600,000 signatures, including names and identity card numbers asking the Pope to remove him from Nicaragua because of his violent and disrespectful behavior. They took boxes of these petitions to the Papal Nuncio in November and December 2018.
Because of sheer numbers, I'm sure that this had a big impact on the pope.
Pope Francis and Cardinal Brenes have known one another for many years and it seems there is a lot of trust in that relationship. Early in 2019 the Cardinal made a trip to the Vatican, it is believed, to request the removal of Baez, who had become a real thorn in his side.
As to the question of whether or not he was threatened by the Sandinistas, that makes no sense whatsoever. If anything happened to Baez, the opposition, the US and the international media would have a field day blaming the Sandinistas. Last year there were rumors that the opposition was planning to kill someone famous like Baez because they needed a martyr.
If you would like more information on the Catholic Church and the violence of 2019 there is a new book out with a chapter on the church.
The book is Live from Nicaragua: Uprising or Coup, written by twenty-two people, the majority internationalists who live in Nicaragua.
To download the pdf for free:
https://afgj.org/nicanotes-live-from-nicaragua-uprising-or-coup
Scroll down and you will see where to download the pdf to your computer. There is history of the US in Nicaragua, a chapter on human rights, one on the church, one on the popular economy, one on media coverage and one on the day to day events interspersed with articles that put the events in context. It came out April 18.
I hope you will read some of the book. Feel free to communicate with me.
In God's love,
Nan"