Good Friday in Nicaragua

 
 Good Friday protestors in Managua

Good Friday processions take place annually in many towns and cities around the world, including one in Toronto's Little Italy. It's strange to see photos from yesterday's march of the mayor and a bloodied Jesus yucking it up on the sidelines, but there it is. 

The processions in Managua, Nicaragua took on more than a devotional tone yesterday, as people took the opportunity to protest the oppressive government of Daniel Ortega. Ortega was a revolutionary leader in the 1970s and was key to the overthrow of the government of that time. Now he and his family have a stranglehold on power in the country and hundreds of people who opposed the government have been killed by security forces. 

It's chilling that Ortega has been both "saviour" and oppressor in Nicaragua. While he was never Jesus, he certainly seems to be Pilate today, using force to intimidate those in opposition to his corrupt rule. 

The Roman Catholic church walks a fine line in Nicaragua, and yesterday was no exception. Here's a portion of the report about Good Friday in the New York Times:

As hundreds of faithful walked in a traditional Stations of the Cross procession to the city's cathedral, dozens of protesters shouted for "justice" and carried wooden crosses bearing the names of those who died during the past year of protests. They waved the blue-and-white Nicaraguan flag, which has become a symbol of the opposition.

When the protest continued outside the cathedral, riot police moved in to disperse them with deafening sound grenade-type devices and tear gas. Some young protesters threw rocks and sought shelter among the faithful inside the cathedral's gates. Police surrounded the site.

José Pallais, a member of the opposition Civic Alliance who has participated in a dialogue with the government, said the Vatican's ambassador Waldemar Sommertag was mediating between authorities and the opposition to win the safe passage of the protesters out of the cathedral. Late Friday night, all safely left the site.

Jesus' Palm Sunday entry into Jerusalem 2,000 years ago was seen as a threat by Roman authorities and the Via Dolorosa, the Way of Sorrows to Calvary was a statement to the pilgrims in Jerusalem that "might makes right."  Yet even the mightiest empires come to an end.

This Easter weekend we can pray for the people of Nicaragua who live in poverty and fear. May the God of deliverance and resurrection hope sustain them.




 Good Friday in Little Italy