Cardinal Leopoldo Brenes of Managua has asked Nicaraguan Catholics to pray for “all our judges in the delicate mission of ensuring justice”—clearly referring to the case of Cristiana Chamorro Barrios, an opposition leader who is under house arrest. The authoritarian government of President Daniel Ortega, who is seeking his fourth term, has blocked Chamorro from participating in this year’s presidential elections.

Bishop Rolando Alvarez of Matagalpa added his voice, saying: “One should not exclude others for one’s own benefit, censoring and eliminating opponents, because then politics becomes militarized and deprives it of its true meaning, which is the search for the common good.”