[ti:Tension Grows Between Government, Catholic Church in Nicaragua] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]A conflict is worsening between Nicaragua's government [00:04.24]and the country's Roman Catholic Church. [00:08.24]The government recently closed [00:10.28]seven of the Church's radio stations. [00:13.40]It also began investigating Church official Rolando álvarez [00:18.52]who has criticized Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. [00:23.56]Ortega accuses the man of stirring up violence [00:27.08]"to carry out acts of hate against the population." [00:32.72]This is not the first time Ortega has acted [00:36.24]against critics of his administration. [00:39.44]Throughout 2021, officials arrested seven candidates [00:44.24]seeking presidential office in that year's November elections. [00:49.36]The conflict between the government [00:51.44]and local Roman Catholic Church leaders is in its fifth year. [00:56.16]Here is a look at the history of the situation and those involved. [01:02.88]President Daniel Ortega is 76 years old [01:06.64]and a former militant with the Sandinista National Liberation Front. [01:12.04]He helped overthrow the country's dictator, [01:14.72]Anastasio Somoza, in 1979. [01:19.12]Ortega first served as president from 1985 until 1990 [01:24.96]when he was voted out of office. [01:28.52]He returned as president in 2007. [01:31.88]In voting last year, he won a fourth term. [01:35.88]However, the election has been widely discredited [01:40.04]because he faced no real opposition. [01:44.56]Social security reform in 2018 led to massive demonstrations, [01:49.76]supported by businesspeople and Catholic leaders. [01:53.68]Nicaraguan security forces and civilian militants [01:58.24]killed at least 355 people in answer to the activism, [02:02.96]reported the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. [02:07.68]Another 2,000 were wounded [02:10.12]and 1,600 jailed in the government offensive, it said. [02:16.60]Political unease continued in the country, however. [02:20.32]Months before last year's vote, [02:23.08]a public opinion study found that support [02:26.04]for five opposition candidates put Ortega's re-election in question. [02:32.00]Within weeks all five were arrested, [02:35.08]along with two other candidates. [02:38.72]Roman Catholicism is the main religion in Nicaragua. [02:42.72]The Church supported the Sandinista party [02:45.92]after Somoza left office. [02:48.36]But political differences between the party and the Church [02:52.64]damaged their relationship over time. [02:56.48]The Church has been supportive of the protesters and their cause. [03:01.64]In April 2018, the Church sheltered student [03:05.36]demonstrators in the capital, Managua. [03:08.48]It also provided food and money to support them. [03:14.28]High-level Church officials, including Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes [03:19.08]and Managua Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Báez, [03:23.04]openly criticized violence against political activists. [03:27.56]Brenes said the protests were just and well-reasoned actions. [03:33.68]Báez rejected any political decision that would harm the people. [03:38.48]He left the country in 2019 [03:41.52]at the request of officials in Vatican City, [03:44.96]the Roman Catholic Church's headquarters in Italy. [03:49.52]Ortega has answered by accusing some church officials [03:53.60]of being part of a plot to overthrow him, calling them "terrorists." [03:59.88]The church radio stations were closed by the government August 1. [04:04.60]Police investigating álvarez accused him of "organizing violent groups." [04:11.36]álvarez has called for electoral reforms [04:14.88]for what he described as "the democratization of the country." [04:20.16]He also demanded the release of [04:22.56]about 190 people he says are political prisoners. [04:28.68]Since August 3, officials have restricted álvarez [04:32.80]to the Church complex where he lives. [04:36.44]On Thursday, he appeared in a live social media broadcast [04:40.88]of a religious service at the complex. [04:44.36]Ten other people, also barred from leaving the complex, [04:48.72]appeared with him on the broadcast. [04:52.28]The next day, Church leaders announced that the government [04:56.24]had banned a planned religious march for security reasons. [05:01.20]The church asked its members [05:03.20]to attend a serviceat the complex, instead. [05:06.84]Hundreds of Nicaraguans answered the call, [05:10.40]attending the service under a heavy police presence. [05:15.64]For almost two weeks, the Vatican was publicly silent [05:19.48]about the investigation of álvarez. [05:22.36]Some Latin American human rights activists [05:26.08]criticized the Church's silence. [05:29.76]Juan Antonio Cruz is the Vatican's representative [05:33.88]in the intergovernmental group, [05:35.84]the Organization of American States (OAS). [05:41.12]Cruz expressed concern about the situation [05:44.52]and asked both parties to "seek ways of understanding." [05:49.52]I'm Dan Novak. 更多听力请访问51VOA.COM