Fr Fernando Cardenal, a priest involved in the Sandinista movement in Nicaragua, has died aged 82.
Fr Cardenal was suspended from the priesthood after refusing to stand down from his post as education minister in the Left-wing government.
The Jesuit was was one of many priests in the Central American country who supported the rebels’ against the government of Anastasio Somoza in the 1970s.
When they overthrew Somoza in 1979, Fr Cardenal joined the government as education minister, which was opposed by the US-backed Contras, and led a successful literacy campaign in Nicaragua.
He was a supporter of Liberation Theology, a religious movement accused of mixing Christianity with Marxist principles, and said he would be “committing a grave sin” to leave his position in the Sandinista government.
“I cannot conceive of a God that would ask me to abandon my commitment to the people,” he explained in an open letter in 1984, after being expelled from the Jesuit order.
Fr Cardenal was eventually readmitted to the order in 1996.
Having been unable to sell in churches for well over a year due to the pandemic, we are now inviting readers to support the Herald by investing in our future. We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values.
Please join us on our 130 year mission by supporting us. We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching. For more information from our chairman on contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund, click here
Make a Donation
Processing ...
Donors giving £500 or more will automatically become sponsor patrons of the Herald. This includes two complimentary print/digital gift subscriptions, invitations to Patron events, pilgrimages and dinners, and 6 gift subscriptions sent to priests, seminaries, Catholic schools, religious care homes and prison and university chaplaincies. Click here for more information on becoming a Patron Sponsor. Click here for more information about contributing to the Herald Patron's Fund