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Witness History: The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit

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The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit

26/07/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - Witness History, The Pope’s controversial Nicaragua visit

Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the Sandinista government during a 1983 trip

Pope John Paul II angered supporters of the left-wing Sandinista government during his 1983 trip to the Central American country.

In 1983 Pope John Paul II visited Nicaragua as part of an eight-day tour of Central America. 

His trip came at a time of heightened tensions between the ruling Sandinista revolutionaries and the country’s Roman Catholic hierarchy. 

The Pope, a staunch anti-communist, condemned members of the Nicaraguan clergy serving in the left-wing government and was heckled by Sandinista supporters during a large open-air mass in the capital, Managua. 

Mike Lanchin has been hearing the memories of Nicaraguan Carlos Pensque, who turned out to protest as the Pope passed by, and of former US Catholic News Service reporter, Nancy Frazier O’Brien, who covered the papal visit. A CTVC production for BBC World Service.

(Photo: Pope John Paul II. Credit: Bettmann via Getty Images)

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