The Vatican on Saturday expressed “surprise and pain” at Nicaragua’s expulsion of a papal envoy, which comes at a time of growing pressure on opposition figures in the Central American nation.
The church said in a statement that Managua’s action against Apostolic Nuncio to Nicaragua Waldemar Stanislaw Sommertag was “grave and unjustified.”
It said the action was “incomprehensible” because Sommertag “has worked tirelessly for the good of the church and of the Nicaraguan people,” while “always seeking to promote good relations” between the Vatican and Nicaraguan authorities.
Sommertag had functioned as a formal witness during government talks with the opposition, it said.
The Vatican