This is eight more than the previous year, the Pontifical Association for Aid to Churches in Need (ACCEI) said in a report published on January 10 in Munich. The report warns that the actual number could be higher, as reliable information is difficult to obtain in some countries.
The number of detainees is increasing
According to ACN, the number of arrests of church workers has increased in particular. In 2023, 86 cases were reported worldwide, compared to 55 the previous year. Belarus and Nicaragua lead the list of countries where the most clergy were imprisoned. In both countries, the Catholic Church has repeatedly publicly criticized human rights violations and the actions of authoritarian governments.
in Nicaragua during the year 46 representatives of the church were interned, including bishops: Rolando Jose Alvarez Lagos and Isidoro del Carmen Mora Ortega. The latter was arrested a few days before Christmas together with 18 clergymen. Bishop Alvarez was sentenced to 26 years in prison in February for refusing to leave the country. Many arrested priests and members of religious congregations were expelled from Nicaragua, including: Missionaries of the Sisters of Charity.
In Belarus, ACN counted ten arrests of clerics, three of whom were still in prison at year's end. Ukrainian priests: Ivan Levitsky and Bohdan Geleta are still in prison. They were arrested by Russian occupation forces in 2022 for alleged terrorist activities.
The murders of the priest
ACN also received confirmed information about 14 clerics killed, including eleven priests. In Nigeria, Fr. Isaac Achi and seminarian Naaman Danlam died in the fire. Also killed was the Benedictine novice Godwin Eze, who had been kidnapped earlier along with his two brothers. An Augustinian priest was shot in Mexico. Javier García Villafania has repeatedly spoken out against the drug cartels.
The most – 28 kidnappings – were recorded in Nigeria. Most of the abductees have been released, but three priests from Nigeria and one from Burkina Faso have been missing for several years. Two cases of abduction of clergy were reported in Haiti, and a nun was kidnapped in Ethiopia.
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(tags translate)pkwp