‘Worn-out dictatorships’ never speak of the cross, Nicaragua’s exiled Bishop Báez says
Silvio Báez, the exiled auxiliary bishop of Managua, Nicaragua, stated that “worn-out dictatorships” that profane the name of Jesus by attributing the dominion they exercise to him “never speak of the cross.”
“Whenever we try to place ourselves ahead of Jesus, instead of following behind him, we cease to be his disciples and lose our way. That is why worn-out dictatorships that hypocritically hide behind religion profane the name of Jesus when they invoke him from their position of power and attribute to him the dominion they exercise over the people, yet never speak of the cross,” the prelate said during an Aug. 30 Mass he celebrated at St. Agatha Parish in Miami.
In view of his past statements, the bishop would appear to be including in that category the Ortega-Murillo dictatorship that controls his country. Indeed, the pro-government news media El 19 Digital proclaims the country is governed in a Christian manner.
These dictatorships, the prelate continued, “appropriate the name of Jesus to legitimize their authoritarianism while silencing the Crucified One, because a messiah who humbles himself, who serves, and who lays down his life for others unmasks their arrogance and condemns their aspirations to remain in power forever.”
“One cannot profess Jesus as Messiah and Son of God without following him along the path of the cross,” Báez pointed out.
Auxiliary bishop of Managua since 2009, Báez was forced to leave Nicaragua in April 2019 due to his defense of protesters opposing the regime of President Daniel Ortega and his wife and vice president, Rosario Murillo, a crackdown that left more than 350 people dead in 2018, according to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.
Since 2018, the Nicaraguan dictatorship has relentlessly persecuted the Catholic Church in the country, controlling priests, expelling religious sisters, confiscating church funds and property, banning ordinations, and exiling bishops — such as Bishop Carlos Enrique Herrera Gutiérrez of Jinotega, president of the Nicaraguan Bishops’ Conference, who was expelled in 2025.
Báez himself had to leave Nicaragua at the request of Pope Francis in 2019 due to serious concerns for his personal safety and now resides in Miami. In August 2025, Pope Leo XIV confirmed him in his role as auxiliary bishop of Managua, albeit in exile.
The bishop celebrates Mass every Sunday at St. Agatha Parish, where the pastor and the parochial vicar, Fathers Marcos Antonio Somarriba and Edwing Román, are also exiled Nicaraguans.
Taking up the cross
Báez explained that “taking up the cross” does not merely mean “accepting setbacks and suffering. The cross is the price of all authentic love”; rather, it also refers to “choosing a life like Jesus’, overcoming the fear of loving, loving without limits, and becoming weak and vulnerable out of love.”
“Taking up the cross means humbling ourselves to enter the world of the poor and the victims in order to stand with them, share in their anguish, and restore the dignity and hope that God desires for them,” he added.
“Taking up the cross means accepting the consequences, almost always painful, of striving to eliminate the suffering of those whom society crucifies, just as Jesus did,” the Nicaraguan bishop emphasized.
The prelate further highlighted that “in a world built on lies, those who speak the truth are persecuted and silenced; in a society rife with injustice, the righteous are shunned and even condemned to death; in a system where the powerful exalt themselves as gods and turn their whims into law, anyone who is critical and refuses to live in submission becomes a target of slander, insults, and persecution.”
‘Thinking like Peter’
Báez also referred to certain situations where one might “think like Peter,” failing to grasp Jesus’ announcement regarding the sacrifice he had to make to save humanity.
“We think like Peter when we do not accept that there are moments in life when the only way to set things right is to go unnoticed, forget about ourselves, be the last, and sacrifice what we cherish most,” he said.
“We also think like Peter when we are unwilling to be inconvenienced for the good of others, to make sacrifices so that others may fare better, or to fight for a society built on justice,” he pointed out.
“We think it’s better not to complicate our lives,” the bishop remarked.
“Many consider it imprudent to speak out against the abuses of the powerful, preferring instead to remain silent or strike a deal with them. Others believe that the world’s problems can only be solved with money, power, or miracles. Jesus, however, teaches us that things change only when we choose the path of littleness and self-forgetfulness; only when we sacrifice ourselves to put God and others first,” Báez explained.
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
