The priest was arrested on Sunday evening after attending a mass in the parish of San Luis Gonzaga, in Managua, presided over by Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes, Nicaraguan Catholic Church sources told Spanish news agency EFE.
The national police neither confirmed nor denied the alleged detention.
The Nicaraguan Freedom Foundation, chaired by exiled opposition leader Félix Maradiaga, demanded his release.
“The Nicaraguan Freedom Foundation calls on the international community to remedy this grave situation of persecution against the Catholic Church in Nicaragua and calls for international attention“, said the organization.
The Articulation of Social Movements also demanded the release of the priest and respect for human rights.
Fernando Israel Zamora Silva, a priest for 27 years, is the seventh priest detained by the National Police, a number that includes Bishop Rolando Álvarez, sentenced to more than 26 years in prison for treason.
Relations between the Ortega government and the Catholic Church were strained, marked by the expulsion, arrest and imprisonment of priests, the banning of religious activities and the suspension of diplomatic relations.
Pope Francis called the Sandinista government a “crass dictatorship” in a recent interview, pointing to “an imbalance in who runs” the country.
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