Opposition members in left-wing dictatorships: Expect more from Pope Francis

Elections will be held in Venezuela this Sunday. The presidential elections will also have an impact on political developments in Nicaragua and Cuba. All three countries are led by left-wing autocratic governments that are sharply criticised for their repressive approach to the opposition. The situation is particularly dramatic for the Church in Nicaragua, where dozens of clergy have been arrested or forced into exile.

Cuban civil rights activist Rosa Maria Paya, Venezuela's former interim president Juan Guaido and former Nicaraguan presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga spoke to the Catholic News Agency (KNA) about the role of the Church and the Pope in the fight for a democratic opening in their home countries. "With all due respect, I have to say that we expect more from Pope Francis," says Juan Guaido. "Neither the Venezuelans nor the Cubans nor the Nicaraguans expect the Vatican to solve our problems," says Guaido, who for a time was the world's best-known opponent of Venezuela's ruler Nicolas Maduro as interim president.

Vatican and global church should provide more support

Guaido calls for the international church and the Vatican to stand more publicly behind bishops and clergy who are in direct conflict with the dictators on the ground. The Church is indeed doing valuable social and humanitarian work on the ground to alleviate people's suffering. "But I am sure that the Vatican can do much more for the oppressed peoples at a political level," says Guaido.

The Cuban civil rights activist Rosa Maria Paya recalls the special role of the clergy: "The Catholic Church in our three countries, priests, nuns, the people, the laity have suffered together with our peoples and on many occasions, as in the case of Nicaragua, they have been at the forefront of the fight for human rights. And these are also Christian principles." Paya is the daughter of Oswaldo Paya, the founder of the Christian democratic "Christian Liberation Movement MCL". Numerous leading members were arrested in 2003. Paya died in a car accident in 2012. His daughter Rosa Maria Paya has been calling for an independent investigation for years and is convinced that her father was deliberately killed by Cuban state security.

She hopes that "the Pope will pray for democratic change, for peace in our three countries", says Paya. The Church has a prophetic mission, namely to point out evil where evil is to be found. And to support those who are persecuted: "And these are our three peoples who are crying out for freedom."

Arrested by ruler Ortega

The role of the Catholic Church in Nicaragua is fundamental, says ex-presidential candidate Felix Maradiaga. He is one of the five presidential candidates that Sandinista ruler Daniel Ortega had arrested in July 2021 before the elections. A UN organisation has just highlighted the political persecution and attacks against church representatives in the Central American country. "The church in Nicaragua had a historic role in the country's history," says Maradiaga. It basically creates identity. "I can't imagine a Nicaragua without a robust presence of the Catholic Church in our everyday life. And it has moral weight. Thanks to its social doctrine, it is committed to the poor, especially in a country as poor as Nicaragua."

And then there is the individual role of church representatives such as Bishop Silvio Baez or Bishop Rolando Alvarez, who represent a Catholic voice. Both are now living in exile; Alvarez was sentenced to a long prison term for treason. Maradiaga appeals to Francis: "We hope that the Pope will turn his gaze to Nicaragua and help us to find our freedom, especially our religious freedom, which Nicaraguans and the faithful deserve."