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Associated Press
2 days ago
- Politics
- Associated Press
Religious leaders released from Nicaraguan prison say their experience only strengthens their faith
God's message didn't immediately make sense to pastor José Luis Orozco. But when U.S. efforts resulted in his release from a Nicaraguan prison a few months later, everything became clear. 'The Lord had told me: 'Don't be afraid, José Luis. A wind will blow from the north, your chains will break and the doors will open,'' the pastor said from his new home in Austin, Texas. By September 2024, he had spent nine months behind bars. With 12 other Nicaraguan members of the Texas-based evangelical Christian organization Mountain Gateway, he faced charges like money laundering and illicit enrichment. Just like them, other faith leaders had been imprisoned during a crackdown that organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, have said are attacks on religious freedom. Orozco thought his innocence would eventually surface. So when the U.S. government announced that it had secured his release along with other political prisoners, he wasn't completely surprised. 'That's when I understood,' the pastor said. 'God was telling me he would act through the United States.' In the hours following the announcement, 135 Nicaraguans were escorted to Guatemala, where most sought paths to settle in other countries. Why did Nicaragua imprison religious leaders? Tensions between President Daniel Ortega and Nicaraguan faith leaders began in 2018, when a social security reform sparked massive protests that were met with a crackdown. Relations worsened as religious figures rejected political decisions harming Nicaraguans and Ortega moved aggressively to silence his critics. Members of Catholic and Evangelical churches have denounced surveillance and harassment from the government. Processions aren't allowed and investigations have been launched into both pastors and priests. CSW, a British-based group that advocates for religious freedom, documented 222 cases affecting Nicaraguans in 2024. 'Religious persecution in Nicaragua is the cruelest Latin America has seen in years,' said Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer who keeps a record of religious freedom violations. 'But the church has always accomplished its mission of protecting human life.' Spreading the gospel Orozco was the first member of his family to become evangelical. He felt called to the ministry at age 13 and convinced relatives to follow in his footsteps. He began preaching in Managua, urging different churches to unite. His experience became key for Mountain Gateway's missionary work. Founded by American pastor Jon Britton Hancock, it began operating in Nicaragua in 2013. CSW had warned that religious leaders defending human rights or speaking critically of the government can face violence and arbitrary detention. But Hancock and Orozco said their church never engaged in political discourse. While maintaining good relations with officials, Mountain Gateway developed fair-trade coffee practices and offered disaster relief to families affected by hurricanes. By the time Orozco was arrested, his church had hosted mass evangelism campaigns in eight Nicaraguan cities, including Managua, where 230,000 people gathered with the government's approval in November 2023. An unexpected imprisonment Orozco and 12 other members of Mountain Gateway were arrested the next month. 'They chained us hand and foot as if we were high-risk inmates,' he recalled. 'None of us heard from our families for nine months.' The prison where he was taken hosted around 7,000 inmates, but the cells where the pastors were held were isolated from the others. The charges they faced weren't clarified until their trial began three months later. No information was provided to their relatives, who desperately visited police stations and prisons asking about their whereabouts. 'We still had faith this was all a confusion and everything would come to light,' Orozco said. 'But they sentenced us to the maximum penalty of 12 years and were ordered to pay $84 million without a right to appeal.' Preaching in prison Fasting and prayer helped him endure prison conditions. Pastors weren't given drinking water or Bibles, but his faith kept him strong. 'The greatest war I've fought in my Christian life was the mental battle I led in that place,' Orozco recalled. Guards didn't prevent pastors from preaching, so they ministered to each other. According to the pastor, they were mocked, but when they were released, a lesson came through. 'That helped them see that God performed miracles,' he said. 'We always told them: Someday we'll leave this place.' Molina said that several faith leaders who fled Nicaragua have encountered barriers imposed by countries unprepared to address their situation. According to the testimonies she gathered, priests have struggled to relocate and minister, because passports are impossible to obtain, and foreign parishes require documents that they can't request. But Orozco fared differently. He shares his testimony during the services he leads in Texas, where he tries to rebuild his life. 'I arrived in the United States just like God told me,' the pastor said. 'So I always tell people: 'If God could perform such a miracle for me, he could do it for you too.'' Laymen were targets too Onboard the plane taking Orozco to Guatemala was Francisco Arteaga, a Catholic layman imprisoned in June 2024 for voicing his concerns over Ortega's restrictions on religious freedom. 'After 2018, when the protests erupted, I started denouncing the abuses occurring at the churches,' Arteaga said. 'For example, police sieges on the parks in front of the parishes.' Initially, he relied on Facebook posts, but later he joined a network of Nicaraguans who documented violations of religious freedom throughout the country. 'We did not limit ourselves to a single religious aspect,' said Arteaga, whose personal devices were hacked and monitored by the government. 'We documented the prohibitions imposed on processions, the fees charged at church entrances and restrictions required inside the sanctuaries.' Arteaga witnessed how police officers detained parishioners praying for causes that were regarded as criticism against Ortega. According to CSW, the government monitors religious activities, putting pressure on leaders to practice self-censorship. 'Preaching about unity or justice or praying for the general situation in the country can be considered criticism of the government and treated as a crime,' said CSW's latest report. Building a new life Prison guards also denied a Bible to Arteaga, but an inmate lent him his. It was hard for him to go through the Scripture, given that his glasses were taken away after his arrest, but he managed to read it back-to-back twice. 'I don't even know how God granted me the vision to read it,' said Arteaga, who couldn't access his diabetes medicine during his imprisonment. 'That gave me strength.' He eventually reunited with his wife and children in Guatemala, where he spent months looking for a new home to resettle. He recently arrived in Bilbao, Spain, and though he misses his country, his time in prison shaped his understanding of life. 'I've taken on the task, as I promised God in prison, of writing a book about faith,' Arteaga said. 'The title will be: 'Faith is not only believing.'' ____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Religious leaders released from Nicaraguan prison say their experience only strengthens their faith
God's message didn't immediately make sense to pastor José Luis Orozco. But when U.S. efforts resulted in his release from a Nicaraguan prison a few months later, everything became clear. 'The Lord had told me: 'Don't be afraid, José Luis. A wind will blow from the north, your chains will break and the doors will open,'' the pastor said from his new home in Austin, Texas. By September 2024, he had spent nine months behind bars. With 12 other Nicaraguan members of the Texas-based evangelical Christian organization Mountain Gateway, he faced charges like money laundering and illicit enrichment. Just like them, other faith leaders had been imprisoned during a crackdown that organizations, such as Human Rights Watch, have said are attacks on religious freedom. Orozco thought his innocence would eventually surface. So when the U.S. government announced that it had secured his release along with other political prisoners, he wasn't completely surprised. 'That's when I understood,' the pastor said. ' God was telling me he would act through the United States.' In the hours following the announcement, 135 Nicaraguans were escorted to Guatemala, where most sought paths to settle in other countries. Why did Nicaragua imprison religious leaders? Tensions between President Daniel Ortega and Nicaraguan faith leaders began in 2018, when a social security reform sparked massive protests that were met with a crackdown. Relations worsened as religious figures rejected political decisions harming Nicaraguans and Ortega moved aggressively to silence his critics. Members of Catholic and Evangelical churches have denounced surveillance and harassment from the government. Processions aren't allowed and investigations have been launched into both pastors and priests. CSW, a British-based group that advocates for religious freedom, documented 222 cases affecting Nicaraguans in 2024. 'Religious persecution in Nicaragua is the cruelest Latin America has seen in years,' said Martha Patricia Molina, a Nicaraguan lawyer who keeps a record of religious freedom violations. 'But the church has always accomplished its mission of protecting human life.' Spreading the gospel Orozco was the first member of his family to become evangelical. He felt called to the ministry at age 13 and convinced relatives to follow in his footsteps. He began preaching in Managua, urging different churches to unite. His experience became key for Mountain Gateway's missionary work. Founded by American pastor Jon Britton Hancock, it began operating in Nicaragua in 2013. CSW had warned that religious leaders defending human rights or speaking critically of the government can face violence and arbitrary detention. But Hancock and Orozco said their church never engaged in political discourse. While maintaining good relations with officials, Mountain Gateway developed fair-trade coffee practices and offered disaster relief to families affected by hurricanes. By the time Orozco was arrested, his church had hosted mass evangelism campaigns in eight Nicaraguan cities, including Managua, where 230,000 people gathered with the government's approval in November 2023. An unexpected imprisonment Orozco and 12 other members of Mountain Gateway were arrested the next month. 'They chained us hand and foot as if we were high-risk inmates,' he recalled. 'None of us heard from our families for nine months.' The prison where he was taken hosted around 7,000 inmates, but the cells where the pastors were held were isolated from the others. The charges they faced weren't clarified until their trial began three months later. No information was provided to their relatives, who desperately visited police stations and prisons asking about their whereabouts. 'We still had faith this was all a confusion and everything would come to light,' Orozco said. 'But they sentenced us to the maximum penalty of 12 years and were ordered to pay $84 million without a right to appeal.' Preaching in prison Fasting and prayer helped him endure prison conditions. Pastors weren't given drinking water or Bibles, but his faith kept him strong. 'The greatest war I've fought in my Christian life was the mental battle I led in that place,' Orozco recalled. Guards didn't prevent pastors from preaching, so they ministered to each other. According to the pastor, they were mocked, but when they were released, a lesson came through. 'That helped them see that God performed miracles,' he said. 'We always told them: Someday we'll leave this place.' Molina said that several faith leaders who fled Nicaragua have encountered barriers imposed by countries unprepared to address their situation. According to the testimonies she gathered, priests have struggled to relocate and minister, because passports are impossible to obtain, and foreign parishes require documents that they can't request. But Orozco fared differently. He shares his testimony during the services he leads in Texas, where he tries to rebuild his life. 'I arrived in the United States just like God told me,' the pastor said. 'So I always tell people: 'If God could perform such a miracle for me, he could do it for you too.'' Laymen were targets too Onboard the plane taking Orozco to Guatemala was Francisco Arteaga, a Catholic layman imprisoned in June 2024 for voicing his concerns over Ortega's restrictions on religious freedom. 'After 2018, when the protests erupted, I started denouncing the abuses occurring at the churches,' Arteaga said. 'For example, police sieges on the parks in front of the parishes.' Initially, he relied on Facebook posts, but later he joined a network of Nicaraguans who documented violations of religious freedom throughout the country. 'We did not limit ourselves to a single religious aspect,' said Arteaga, whose personal devices were hacked and monitored by the government. 'We documented the prohibitions imposed on processions, the fees charged at church entrances and restrictions required inside the sanctuaries.' Arteaga witnessed how police officers detained parishioners praying for causes that were regarded as criticism against Ortega. According to CSW, the government monitors religious activities, putting pressure on leaders to practice self-censorship. 'Preaching about unity or justice or praying for the general situation in the country can be considered criticism of the government and treated as a crime,' said CSW's latest report. Building a new life Prison guards also denied a Bible to Arteaga, but an inmate lent him his. It was hard for him to go through the Scripture, given that his glasses were taken away after his arrest, but he managed to read it back-to-back twice. 'I don't even know how God granted me the vision to read it,' said Arteaga, who couldn't access his diabetes medicine during his imprisonment. 'That gave me strength.' He eventually reunited with his wife and children in Guatemala, where he spent months looking for a new home to resettle. He recently arrived in Bilbao, Spain, and though he misses his country, his time in prison shaped his understanding of life. 'I've taken on the task, as I promised God in prison, of writing a book about faith,' Arteaga said. 'The title will be: 'Faith is not only believing.'' ____ Associated Press religion coverage receives support through the AP's collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content.
Fox News
4 days ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Massachusetts school officials under fire for working to ban religious groups from renting facilities
A Massachusetts town is facing backlash and a potential lawsuit for a school committee proposal trying to ban religious organizations and churches from renting public school space. A letter from the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center, addressed to the members of the Salem School Committee, says that the committee is discriminating against House of Promise Church and other religious groups over a proposal, Policy 3204, that would ban religious institutions from renting or leasing space in Salem Public Schools. The proposal, included in the Salem School Committee's May 19, 2025, meeting minutes, reads, "Leases and rentals not being granted to religious organizations was added to the policy to address concerns that there may be religious organizations with values that do not align to the district's values." "I write on behalf of my client, House of Promise Church, to demand that you immediately cease any effort to discriminate against it or any other religious organization based on their religious beliefs and viewpoints," Sam Whiting, counsel of the Massachusetts Liberty Legal Center (MLLC), wrote in a June 9 letter. "It is our understanding that you are in the process of approving a policy that would ban religious organizations, and only religious organizations, from renting or leasing space in Salem Public Schools," the letter reads. "This would constitute a clear First Amendment violation. Should you pass and implement this policy, we will take immediate legal action to preserve my client's rights." The MLLC letter contends that the House of Promise Church, which has reserved space in Collins Middle School auditorium for Sunday services, is being singled out. "House of Promise Church is a non-denominational Christian church that has reserved space in the auditorium of Collins Middle School for Sunday worship services for a number of years," the letter reads. It adds that the church has "used the online public reservation portal to do so. During that time, it has never received any complaints or negative feedback about its use of the property. Many other organizations also rent space from Salem Public Schools for their meetings and activities, such as the Boys and Girls Club, a daycare, and various afterschool programs." The members of the Salem School Committee reportedly voted to advance the policy on June 2 and are expected to pass the policy in a vote Tuesday. "In a conversation with Pastor Hyatt after the June 2nd meeting adjourned, Superintendent Zrike expressed that it was his understanding that if the policy passes, House of Promise Church will be immediately barred from renting space at Salem Public Schools and any current reservations will be cancelled," the letter reads. In a statement to Fox News Digital, Whiting said that the proposal is in direct violation of the First Amendment, with a nod to Salem's infamous witch trials in the 1600s. "We are astounded by Salem's blatant violation of the First Amendment, which violates decades of clear legal precedent," Whiting said. "Apparently, someone needed to inform Salem that our Constitution doesn't allow for anti-Christian witch hunts. We trust that our letter will do the trick and that the Salem School Committee will vote to reject this discriminatory policy." House of Promise Church pastor Richard Hyatt told Fox News Digital that he is "deeply troubled" by the new policy to exclude religious organizations. "To be clear, the only religious organizations currently using these buildings are churches—and no one else. Meanwhile, more than 100 secular institutions continue to have access with no threat of exclusion. This selective treatment tells me that we are not being judged on our behavior or impact, but solely on our religious identity and beliefs," Hyatt said. He added that if the proposal advances, the church will "not hesitate to pursue all legal avenues to defend our rights under the First Amendment and Massachusetts law." Fox News Digital reached out to the Salem School Committee and Superintendent Stephen Zrike for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
Supreme Court order gives religious organizations new chance to challenge New York abortion rule
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday ordered a New York court to take a new look at whether some religious organizations should be excluded from a state regulation requiring health insurance plans to cover abortions. The justices acted after the court unanimously ruled earlier in June that Wisconsin discriminated against a Catholic charity by forcing it to pay state unemployment taxes.
CBS News
7 days ago
- General
- CBS News
Colorado town settles lawsuit with church over homeless shelters for $225K
A Colorado town has settled a lawsuit brought on by a church that said the town was violating the church's religious freedom rights in trying to stop the church from using a shelter on its property. Attorneys for The Rock Church in Castle Rock on Friday announced the settlement, which includes the town allowing the church to use the trailers it was using as shelters on its property and paying the church's legal fees in the suit -- to the tune of $225,000. "The Town and the Rock believe that this agreement is in the best interest of all parties and successfully balances the Rock's religious free-exercise rights with the Town's public interest in enforcing land use regulations and protecting the general welfare, public health, and safety," the town and the church said in a joint statement. "The Town and the Rock are no longer in an adversarial posture in regard to the litigation and look forward to productive cooperation and potential partnerships on issues in the future." The statement was sent by attorneys for the church, but it was a joint statement from both parties as part of the settlement of the suit. CBS News Colorado reached out to the Town of Castle Rock for additional comment, but did not immediately hear back. "This is a welcome resolution that goes far to encourage churches who care for those in need and a good example of the type of cooperation between church and state that every community should welcome," First Liberty senior counsel Jeremy Dys, one of the church's attorneys, said in a statement. The Rock Church in Castle Rock, Colorado recently settled a lawsuit against the town, alleging the town was violating the church's religious freedom rights in trying to prevent church officials from using trailers on its property as emergency shelters. CBS The legal battle commenced just over a year ago when the church sued the town in federal court, but the dispute had been going on for years. The church parked two trailers in its parking lot it was using as emergency shelters for those in need, in partnership with the Red Cross, but the town argued that the trailers and their use as shelters violated town zoning rules. In December 2024, the town issued a determination letter that permits the church to operate its shelters and clarified that its zoning regulations don't prevent the church from providing additional shelter during public emergencies. The agreement allows the church to use up to seven trailers as emergency shelters and allows the town to erect privacy fences and screening. As a result of the settlement, the lawsuit itself was dismissed in federal court. "We are pleased that we can continue our church's mission to transform society by loving others as Christ loved us," The Rock Pastor Mike Polhemus said in a statement. "We love Castle Rock and are committed to working with the Town of Castle Rock to provide assistance to those in need, thus helping to reduce homelessness in our community." You can read the full settlement agreement here:
