Nicaragua: Questions emerge in priest's murder

The Catholic Church in Nicaragua confirmed on August 23 that a body that was recovered that morning at the Kilometre 16 marker on the road to Leon is indeed that of Fr. Marlon Ernesto Pupiro Garcia of the province of Masaya. According to the Archdiocese of Managua, in the capital city, Fr Marlon had been missing since August 20 under as yet to be discovered circumstances. The sacristan for Fr Marlon's parish in La Concepcion, José Ignacio Moraga Sánchez, told local media that every morning the priest arrived on time to open the church for the morning liturgy. On the morning of August 20, when the priest did not arrive, the sacristan walked along the road but did not find him.

According to FIDES news service, the press office of the Archdiocese of Managua said that the priest's body was brought to La Purisima parish, in the municipality of La Concepcion, Masaya (La Concha) where the Metropolitan Archbishop and Auxiliary Bishop Silvio Baez and the clergy of the archdiocese celebrated a Mass. The funeral was held in Ticuantepe on August 24. Fr Marlon had been the pastor at the Concepcion Parish since 2006. He was 40 years old.

A spokesman for  the archdiocese said that Fr Marlon will be interred beside his mother who died a few years ago. Archbishop Leopoldo Jose Brenes Solórzano of Managua said that the news of Fr Marlon’s killing shocked everyone, and that at the moment there are no official government statements about how he was killed. The priest's remains were found at an illegal refuse dump, wrapped in plastic. On the same day, three other victims of violence were similarly found in the Central American nation.

Thousands of members of the community in Masaya took to the streets to express their repudiation of the crime, as well as their grief, confusion, and tears. Bishop Bismarck Conde, the dean of the cathedral in Managua, said "We are walking together with our Catholic community so that together we can bid our last farewell to our beloved brother, Father Pupiro. We are mourning the fact that, as happened today to a priest, unfortunately happens every day to many people even though the police say ours is the safest country in Central America." Nicaragua's poor are calling on their government to clarify the circumstances of the priest's murder.

Father Blas Cordo of Masaya said of his murdered collegue, "Father Pupiro was always a humble man; I am not the only one who says this, the presence of the weeping people here says it. He gave himself to the community; this is something that saddens all of us and which we condemn. There has never been a case like this in Nicaragua, but still we don't understand how a pitiless criminal hand could so destroy a priest." One of the mourners on hand, Jacqueline Bustos of La Concha, said "We don't know why they slaughtered the priest; he was a good man and I am not saying that now because he is dead. Everybody knew that he was a true Christian who we could never imagine would be murdered."

The town of La Concepción, Masaya province, has declared three days of mourning for the fallen priest. School has been cancelled and the doors of the parish church will be open for people to come and pray for the soul of Father Marlon.