Latin American Catholic college organization condemns seizure of Nicaraguan Jesuit university

Walter Sanchez Silva   By Walter Sanchez Silva for CNA

August 28, 2023 Catholic News Agency News Briefs 0 Print

 

Facade of the Central American University (UCA), before being expropriated by the Ortega dictatorship. / Credit: Courtesy Jesuits of Central America

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 28, 2023 / 16:15 pm (CNA).

The Organization of Catholic Universities of Latin America and the Caribbean (ODUCAL), with a membership of 116 institutions of higher education, expressed its solidarity with the Jesuits of Nicaragua following the expropriation of the Central American University (UCA) by the dictatorship of President Daniel Ortega and his wife, Vice President Rosario Murillo, earlier this month.

In a recent statement, ODUCAL expressed its “deep concern over the siege, the confiscation of assets, and the closure suffered by the Central American University located in Managua” and its “solidarity with its educational community.”

The organization also demanded that “the drastic, abrupt, and unjust measures adopted by the Nicaraguan [court] against Catholic university educational institutions be reversed and corrected immediately.”

The academic association also called for “an end to the growing aggression affecting the Nicaraguan university system and its members” and that “a rational solution be sought in which truth, justice, dialogue, and the defense of academic freedom prevail.”

Two weeks ago, the Ortega regime expropriated the UCA as well as Villa Carmen (the residence of six elderly Jesuits), canceled the legal personhood of the order, and transferred all its property and assets to the state.

Following the takeover by the regime of the UCA, thousands of students found themselves at a crossroads, facing uncertainty about their academic future and how their grades and paperwork will be handled.

In its statement, ODUCAL noted that “the UCA is a Catholic institution of the Society of Jesus with more than 60 years of history that has made a great contribution through its teaching, research, and enormous public advocacy, insistently and courageously seeking peace and justice in Nicaragua.”

ODUCAL expressed its solidarity with the Nicaraguan people and said: “We renew our defense of human rights and peace at a time when our peoples are experiencing, in many places, serious restrictions on freedoms and where democracy is threatened in various ways.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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‘Surf’s up’ for these Argentine priests

February 8, 2018 CNA Daily News 0

Buenos Aires, Argentina, Feb 9, 2018 / 12:00 am (CNA).- Fr. Santiago Arriola is convinced that “our entire life, in all its expressions and dimensions, calls for evangelization and can be evangelized.”

 With Fr. Pablo Etchepareborda, he has begun a surfing ministry on the beaches of Mar del Plata, Argentina.

Although their endeavor is “a work in progress,”  without all the details worked out, there have been two experiences that have encouraged the priests to continue this ministry.

The first effort was in the summer of 2016 when Fr.  Pablo Etchepareborda blessed surf boards, the sea, and a gathering of surfers in Mar del Plata.

And the pair recently held an “Aloha Encounter,” on a local beach.

“Surfers often say the Hawaiian word ‘aloha’ to each other, which has a multiplicity of meanings referring to wishing someone well,” Fr. Arriola told ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish language sister agency.

For two days,  18 surfers, body surfers, and stand-up paddlers, body surfing gathered for times of prayer, personal reflection and group sharing, as well as recreational activities.

Those attending included catechists and members of the Schoenstatt Movement (a Catholic secular institute devoted to defending family life and to venerating Mary), together with “young people who’ve had a faith experience and are involved in the Church in some way and others who have drifted away from the Church somewhat, but are still wrestling with their faith,” Fr. Arrila said.

“For surfers, surfing has a vital meaning, a meaning that transcends the mere sport itself. For many, it’s a time to get reinvigorated, to relax and get away from the frantic pace of daily life, to be with nature and have a kind of religious experience. So it seemed to us a beautiful opportunity to make
this vital meaning of surfing more explicit, and to do it in a community setting,” he explained.

The priest said that they will do other activities as Argentina’s summer, which is during the winter months of the Northern Hemisphere, continues, since the Aloha Encounter “is without a doubt a very positive, worthwhile and enriching experience for all of us who participated and it left our hearts yearning for more.”

This article was originally published by our sister agency, ACI Prensa. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

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