UNIJES stands up for UCA and Society of Jesus in Nicaragua
UNIJES, the network of Jesuit Universities in Spain including the universities of Deusto, Pontificia Comillas and Loyola, and the higher education centers of IQS, Esade, INEA and SAFA, expresses its solidarity and support for the Central American Province of the Society of Jesus and the university community at the Universidad Centroamericana (UCA) in Managua, in view of the serious events of recent days.
We can testify to the first-rate academic education and social commitment that UCA has given the Nicaraguan people since 1960, all of which has been widely acknowledged in Nicaragua and elsewhere. We have developed several collective projects with the UCA of Nicaragua both as centers and also as a network, which have always resulted in invaluable cooperation that has now been truncated very ominously.
In 2022, UCA received the Peter Canisius Medal at Boston College, an award from the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) in recognition of UCA’s denunciation of events classified as crimes against humanity by the UN Group of Experts on Human Rights on Nicaragua, as a result of which UCA has suffered many increasingly aggressive attacks since 2018, being continuously slandered and harassed, like more than three thousand Nicaraguan civil society organizations. The country’s authorities have recently stripped UCA and the Society of Jesus of their legal status in Nicaragua and confiscated their assets, thereby revealing the governing regime’s intention of consolidating a totalitarian State.
UCA has unjustifiably been denied the certifications necessary to fulfil its mission of educating, investigating and dialoguing with society, as also occurred to another 27 other higher education centers; all their assets were confiscated on August 15, and our sister university was slandered by calling it a “center of terrorism.” On August 17, the National Council of Universities cancelled its operating license. The Central American Province of the Society of Jesus maintains that the de facto confiscation of UCA’s assets is in reprisal for its efforts to build a fairer society, and also its commitment to safeguard the life, truth and freedom of the Nicaraguan people, in keeping with its motto: “The truth will set you free” (John 8,32).
Here at UNIJES, we express our full support for UCA of Nicaragua and our Jesuit brothers in that country. We second the demands of the Central American Province, the General Curia of the Society of Jesus, and Jesuits around the world for:
- The drastic, unexpected and unfair measures implemented by the Nicaraguan authorities to be cancelled and remedied immediately.
- The unreasonable and increasingly aggressive attitude of the government towards UCA and the Society of Jesus to cease.
- A rational solution based on truth, justice and dialogue to be found.
We are grateful for the courage, commitment and testimony of the UCA university community. We reiterate the solidarity of UNIJES towards our sister university and the Central American Province of the Society of Jesus.
Finally, we second the commitment of the Society of Jesus to the people of Nicaragua and to providing quality education for every citizen inspired by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, an inspiration that upholds our hope that national and international solidarity will give rise to a renovated Nicaragua and UCA.
“God has the last word regarding history, and also regarding Nicaragua.” *
Signatories of the Manifesto (28 August 2023)
- Gonzalo Villagrán SJ, interim UNIJES delegate
- Juan José Etxeberria SJ, rector, Universidad de Deusto
- Enrique Sanz Giménez-Rico SJ, rector, Universidad Pontificia Comillas
- Gabriel Pérez Alcalá, rector, Universidad Loyola
- Salvador Borrós, director general, IQS (URL)
- Xavier Mendoza, director general, Esade (URL)
- Félix Revilla SJ, director, INEA
- Consuelo Burgos, director, SAFA
- Ana García-Mina, UNIJES board
- Jaime Oraá SJ, UNIJES board
- Francisco José Ruiz SJ, UNIJES board
- Enrique López Viguria, executive UNIJES secretary
